14 Givati soldiers dismissed from combat duty, given 30-day sentence over desertion

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

IDF soldiers seen leaving the Sde Teiman military base near Beersheba, southern Israel, July 30, 2026. (Tsafrir Abayov/Flash90)
IDF soldiers seen leaving the Sde Teiman military base near Beersheba, southern Israel, July 30, 2026. (Tsafrir Abayov/Flash90)

The IDF says 14 soldiers of the Givati Brigade’s Tzabar Battalion, who led yesterday’s mass desertion of an army base in southern Israel, were sentenced to 30 days in military jail.

The commander of the Givati Brigade, Col. Netanel Shamaka also permanently dismissed those soldiers from combat duty, the military says.

Another 80 or so troops who left the base without permission and later returned, will be required to stay on base this weekend, during which they will undergo “a command and educational process to strengthen the discipline, values and norms expected of IDF soldiers.”

In addition, two more troops who returned to the base overnight will be sentenced later, and one soldier has yet to show up to be sentenced, the army adds.

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