“I told him there was going to be a war and we’re simply not ready.” These were the words of an Israeli female spotter on duty at the Gaza border on October 7, 2023. Her seniors, male officers all, ignored her warning about suspicious Hamas activity. Had the information been taken seriously, it might have prevented Hamas from infiltrating on that Black Saturday.

Young female soldiers are often at the heart of successful counterterrorism operations. They are capable of spending hours in front of screens, scanning surveillance feeds for signs of suspicious behavior. The Israeli military prefers to use women in these roles, because they are vigilant and not easily distracted. Why their warnings were ignored in the run-up to the October 7 attacks is under investigation in Israel.

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