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The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says female combat troops won’t be entering Lebanon or Gaza, as they will not be crossing any border at all, the Jewish Press reported.

The decision will alter a number of items in the physical training standards for female combat soldiers.

Meanwhile, the move has drawn strong criticism from some quarters by those who say all combat soldiers should be subject to the same training standards regardless of gender.

The IDF has also lowered the number of bullet magazines carried by women in their combat vests, from six to four.

IDF Ground Forces Commander Major General Kobi Barak defended the decision, saying the physical demands are unnecessary.

In an interview with the Hebrew-language Ma’ariv newspaper, Barak said mixed-gender units won’t be used to fight wars across Israel’s borders, rather they are intended for border protection.

“A mixed-gender battalion won't need to storm a machine gun nest with heavy weapons, like what a Golani or Givati soldier will need to do in Lebanon,” said Barak. “A light infantry battalion such as these need to focus only on its mission, something they do very well.”

There are plenty of conflicting views in Israel about the viability of female troops in combat roles.

The IDF launched a pilot program for female troops to serve in the tank corps, but it later announced that the experiment had failed.

“These tanks may be required to fire a shell at the enemy from fixed positions, but that's it. There are no enemy tank divisions invading us, and our training procedure for the [female soldiers] reflects that,” said Barak.

Israel has taken measures to lower the number of female soldiers and sepreate them from men for sexual problems. A report presented to the Knesset in 2014 shows that in the previous year, 561 members of the IDF reported sexual harassment, an uptick from 511 in 2012. This means that 1 in 8 female soldiers experienced sexual assault in 2013.

*(Image credit: Cpl. Zev Marmorstein/ Israel Defense Forces/ flickr)