Women Leadership: The Heroic Actions of Lt.-Col. Or Ben Yehuda

In a story of woman power, let’s give it up for Lt.-Col. Or Ben-Yehuda, commander of the Caracal Battalion, who led her unit in a remarkable operation against Hamas terrorists in the southern Gaza Strip. She led her troops to eliminate approximately 100 terrorists during this battle. Ben-Yehuda and her team of soldiers in the Battalion and the tank soldiers worked diligently under her command. She stated their training and performance on the battlefield have unequivocally demonstrated their capabilities. Ben-Yehuda also highlighted the dedication of the commanders who joined the fight. 

Ben Yehuda moved quickly to a post on the Egyptian border. Rockets were raining down when she received a message from the commander of the Nahal Brigade’s patrol battalion, who was later killed in an encounter with terrorists. She reported an infiltration from Hamas terrorists who were heavily armed. 

Ben-Yehuda pulled her troops from the mixed-gender, infantry combat Caracal Battalion and told the group they were going out to eliminate terrorists. Infiltration into Israel is happening, and it’s spreading. Stay alert. We might cross paths. We are a strong squad.”

They approached an Israeli military post with  40 combat soldiers and military drivers … and numerous terrorists. They detected that the terrorists were in the dining room, armed with anti-tank missiles. Next, the squad of 12 found some 50 terrorists and snipers charging toward them quickly. They responded with gunfire. Terrorists were eliminated, and the others dispersed.

In a harrowing moment, a terrorist came to Ben-Yehuda at point-blank range, but a quick reaction saved her. When another Lt. col. arrived and understood there were terrorists in the base, he suggested taking action but Ben Yehuda wanted to avoid harming the soldiers. They found a way to burst fire at embankments in the area, which killed terrorists and prevented further attacks on the squad. The squad were able to keep the terrorists back for four hours with non stop fighting. The idf were sending light missiles toward the terrorists from a distance. Some were killed and some ran. After keeping this fight up, the navy special forces came and were able to clear the Israeli military base of terrorists and stayed for 14 hours to make sure it was fully secure. 

Ben Yehuda says the success of this operation serves as a testament to the competence of female combat soldiers.