Captain Ella

Ella Waweya (, ; born 16 October 1989), known widely as "Captain Ella" (, ),

Before joining the IDF, she worked in communications, including radio broadcasting, and founded the “Shared Life” project to promote Arab–Jewish coexistence. After national service at Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba in 2011, she volunteered for the Israel Defense Forces in 2013, becoming the first female soldier from the Triangle area, initially keeping her service private from her family as they excommunicated her for treason. On 15 February, she was officially appointed as the IDF's Arabic media spokesperson during a handover ceremony in Tel Aviv.

Social media Under the moniker "Captain Ella", Waweya posts Arabic-language content on social media. According to The Times of Israel, she has more than half a million followers on TikTok and 200,000 on X.