The Israeli military has announced that they're expanding the number of women serving in front-line combat roles in a new trial with several elite units.
In a statement posted online, the IDF said that following an assessment that found that including women in certain units would be possible, they would be expanding a trial and allowing women to join more units than before.
The two main units that will now be open to female recruits are Unit 669, a helicopter extraction unit and Yahalom, an engineering corps responsible for counter-terrorism operations and destroying smuggling tunnels.
Women have been allowed in some mixed-sex combat units since 2000, when the majority-female Caracal infantry battalion was formed. Today, women make up around 18% of combat roles across the IDF, compared to under five per cent in 2014.
