Fearless young female soldiers have told how they rushed to the Gaza border on October 7 to defend their homeland.
Ella Mizrach, 22, and Hagar Abraham, 19, raced through the Negev Desert with their M16 assault rifles in hand to tackle Hamas and protect civilians.
Part of the elite border guard unit, they are trained to understand the minds of the terrorists so they can stay one step ahead.
They also have an intricate knowledge of the kibbutz close to Gaza, allowing them to respond to an invasion faster than other soldiers.
Second Lieutenant Mizrach, who emigrated from Norway three years ago to join the border guards, said: “We trained the other units that day.
'We knew better than them and did our work faster. Maybe they got there faster, but we did a much better job.”
Fearless young female soldiers have told how they rushed to the Gaza border on October 7 to defend their homeland
Ella Mizrach, 22, (left) and Hagar Abraham, 19, (right) raced through the Negev Desert, M16 assault rifles in hand to tackle Hamas and protect civilians
She was in officer training – with Sergeant Abraham 150 miles away at the Border Protection School at Sayarim Camp in the Negev Desert – when Hamas invaded.
Here they learn how to shoot, navigate using the stars and how to get into the minds of the terrorists.
The women were asleep when they received the call to go to Gaza after the invasion.
And 2nd Lieutenant Mizrach explained: 'We couldn't understand what was happening – it was like a dream. Officers told us that Hamas had been infiltrated.
“They told us: 'Pack your bag, you are needed, we don't know where you are going, but you are going'.”
Sergeant Abraham said: 'We had four hours to reach the location. We were not told where, only that we were needed. We were scared, but we had our training to prepare us. We are always ready to answer that call, we are trained to do so. We were the ones who had to clean up the mess that Hamas had created.”
Female soldiers work alongside men in their units and are the best in the country at defending the kibbutz. “We have special techniques for jumping from house to house,” said 2nd Lt. Mizrach.
Part of the elite border guard unit, they are trained to understand the minds of the terrorists so they can stay one step ahead
Discussing what they study about terrorists, she added: “They want people to be afraid of them, that way they benefit from it. So you're thinking, how do you scare people? What are people most afraid of: taking their children with them. So they go to kindergarten and things like that.
“It's thinking about what they want to achieve and achieve with terror, and then we do it the other way around.”
The terrorists came within 600 meters of them while defending Israeli civilians and a drone took them out.
When asked if she would hesitate to kill Hamas, she replied: 'No. I have a responsibility.” The women believe their unit has a distinct advantage over terrorists because it is mixed.
Ms Mizrach said: 'They think we are an even bigger threat than an ordinary soldier because they almost feel ashamed when we kill them because we are women.'
Explaining the advantage women have on the front lines, she added: “We can do multiple things at the same time. I tell the boys what to do. I can do a hundred things and still be in charge of them all the time.”