A report by the Israeli newspaper “Haaretz” revealed that the Israeli army refrained from deploying a combat support system described as “vital” inside a military site in southern Lebanon, due to the refusal to have female soldiers inside a site where a battalion of religiously extremist Haredi soldiers is stationed.
According to the report, the decision came despite soldiers and military commanders confirming that the system is necessary to support combat operations and protect forces deployed within Lebanese territory.
The newspaper quoted soldiers and military sources as saying that senior officers informed the unit’s members that the reason for not deploying the system was due to the presence of female soldiers within the force operating it, at a time when members of the “Hasmonean” battalion affiliated with the ultra-Orthodox movement were stationed inside the site.
Haaretz explained that the religious beliefs of the Haredim prevent direct mixing between men and women, which prompted the military leadership to prevent female soldiers from entering the military site.
The sources confirmed that the operation of the system depends mainly on female soldiers, who constitute a large percentage of the unit, which made its deployment within the site impossible.
The newspaper quoted a source in the unit as saying, “The system is vital to support combat operations, but in the end it does not work where it is needed because female soldiers are prevented from entering the site.”
The report indicated that the issue is gaining additional sensitivity in light of the high losses of the Israeli army in southern Lebanon, especially as a result of attacks by attack drones loaded with explosives.
According to Haaretz, 22 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the start of the current round of fighting in Lebanon, while most of the deaths occurred in recent weeks as a result of drone attacks, which are threats that the defense system was supposed to contribute to confronting.
The newspaper pointed out that Israeli forces deployed in southern Lebanon maintain a series of sites about 10 kilometers north of the border, where they carry out searches inside villages and sites that Israel says are used by Hezbollah.
In an official response, the Israeli army denied what was stated in the report, stressing that “the claim that the activity of the Hasmonean battalion prevented the deployment of the system is incorrect.”
He added that reserve forces from the unit in question arrived in the area about two weeks ago due to an “operational need,” before a later decision was taken to transfer them to another sector “based on operational considerations.”
