Prior to Caracal's formation in 2000, women were barred from serving in direct combat. The unit has since been tasked with patrolling the Israeli-Egyptian border. It took part in Israel's unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Stripin the summer of 2005. Caracal Battalion engaged in combat on September 21, 2012 on the Egyptian border, following the infiltration of a group of terrorists. Responding to a radio report of the attack, in a fire-fight a female Caracal infantry soldier killed a terrorist, who was wearing a Suicide Belt. In October 2014, a jeep of the battalion was attacked by militants from the Egyptian border with gunfire and an anti-tank missile. Two soldiers were injured. One of the injured, female officer, Captain Or Ben-Yehuda, nonetheless dismounted from the jeep and returned fire killing one militant in the fire-fight. In November 2017, Caracal officially became part of the border array and replaced the green beret with a light yellow and brown camouflage. While Caracal is a mixed gender battalion, it has been 70% female since 2009. It is part of the 512th Sagi Brigade of the Southern Command. The unit badge incorporates the Sagi Brigade badge with the addition of the caracal cat.
Soldiers in Caracal are trained with the Micro-Tavor assault rifle but until August 2017 new recruits were trained with the M16A1 and M4A1 assault rifle as the official weapon of the battalion. Weapons used by the unit also include the M-203 grenade launcher, M-72 Light Antitank Weapon rocket, 7.62mm MAG machine gun, 5.56mm Negev light machine gun, M2 Browning heavy machine gun, Sacco Defense Mk-19 40mm automatic grenade launcher, and 60 mm mortar. As for vehicles, they use Ford, Abir, Sufa, Hammer, Mk 2 Sufa and Mk 3 Sufa vehicles. Caracal has additional equipment that allow for advanced communication and observation, such as night vision goggles and other equipment that is classified.
Notable recruits
Noy, who is serving in the Caracal Battalion, was the first female officer to command a sniper platoon. Elinor Joseph, who has also served with the Caracal Battalion, is the first Arab woman ever to serve in a combat role in the Israeli Army. Captain Or Ben-Yehuda was awarded a citation while serving in the Caracal Battalion. Ben-Yehuda was in charge of the Caracal Battalion which was stationed near the Israeli-Egyptian border. Nearly two dozen armed men opened fire on their position in an ambush attack on October 22, 2014. Although wounded in the volley of gunfire, Ben-Yehuda managed to get on the radio and call for backup, administer first aid to her driver and return several magazines worth of gunfire back at her attackers while waiting for reinforcements.
