From Gaza to Lebanon: IDF’s first female commando doctor on saving lives under fire

IDF Major Dr. R. (35) is reportedly the first female commando doctor in the Israel Defense Forces. She assumed her role as chief medical officer of the IDF Commando Brigade just a week before the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023 massacre. Since then, the doctor has faced numerous challenges – including surviving a drone explosion – while carrying out life-saving missions in Gaza, Syria and Lebanon.

In recognition of her service, Major Dr. R. received the IDF Chief of Staff Citation of Excellence and recently shared her experiences in a Ynet News interview.

“It’s incredibly difficult to treat caregivers,” R. revealed. “There’s no time to process what you’re going through when you constantly have to be ready for the next emergency. To keep functioning, I push the memories into a high drawer in my mind that I can’t reach. I just don’t open it. When people ask me about what I’ve been through, it’s very hard to open that drawer and remember what I saw," she admitted.

R. stressed the importance of routine in her work.

“You hold on to routine and do whatever you can to remember the purpose, the 'why.' The sorrow never really leaves, but it helps you return to functioning,” she said.

She recalled the challenges of dealing with chaos amid the Hamas Oct. 7 atrocities.

“I hadn’t even had time to figure out who was who,” she recalled. “My first contact with many reservists was when I was calling to tell them: ‘We’re being called up. There’s a war.”

“What I remember most from those days is the uncertainty and innocence. We had no idea what we were about to face. It was unexpected and beyond anything imaginable. The evil was incomprehensible,” she noted, referring to the unprecedented Hamas massacre of 1,200 Israelis – including women, children and elderly citizens – and the kidnapping 251 hostages into Gaza.

“We tried to bring order to the chaos in the south. We treated everyone we could and evacuated them in any possible way – by private cars, United Hatzalah ambulances, helicopters, we coordinated off the usual channels. The priority was just getting injured to the hospital," Dr. R. said.

Though she and her team saved many lives, she is still haunted by the traumatic images — and by the life-or-death choices that come with being a doctor on the battlefield.

“So many of them. When you’re treating the wounded, you don’t feel helpless. But the number of bodies and what we saw by the roadside near the entrance to Kfar Aza is beyond anything one can process. I still see it, but I try not to think about it regularly."

“We had to make tough decisions under uncertainty, evaluating the first medical condition of the wounded. Field medics checked them and reported their condition to us so we could coordinate with combat command: Where to land the helicopters and which evacuation method to use,” she said.

R. recalled additional challenges she and her unit faced during Israel's war against the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon.

“Commando Brigade was the first to maneuver in Lebanon during this war, in complex, unfamiliar terrain where we faced a prolonged, high-casualty battle and had tremendous difficulty evacuating under fire,” she said. “The operation kept evolving. The evacuation effort was massive and challenging.”

Despite many traumatic experiences, R. believes that she and her teammates have learned valuable lessons from the ongoing war.

“This war taught us to operate like a well-oiled machine, making critical decisions under pressure. After every incident, I’d gather our medical teams, provide support, process what happened, debrief, and learn. That’s part of our duty too. We know how to care for others, but taking care of ourselves is the hardest part,” she explained.

According to Dr. R., female IDF soldiers have played a crucial role in Israel’s multifront war.

“I do think the presence of a woman on the battlefield brings balance in terms of emotional intelligence, compassion, which are traits not typically associated with combat. There are female doctors everywhere now, including in elite units. We’ve proven ourselves, and any woman who dreams of these roles can certainly achieve them," R. stated.

In May, reports indicated a surge in the number of female Israeli combat soldiers, with women now making up over 20% of the IDF’s combat force – an unprecedented figure that reflects a sharp rise even as the debate over drafting ultra-Orthodox men continues.