Soldiers in the Givati Brigade’s Rotem Battalion refused to enter an armored personnel carrier in the Gaza Strip for operational activity because a female paramedic was attached to the force.
As a result, the mission last night was canceled, according to the army.
The incident is the latest in a series of cases of Orthodox soldiers refusing to interact with servicewomen in the army due to their religious sensibilities.
The Rotem Battalion is not a Haredi unit, and therefore the soldiers serving there, under the IDF’s protocols, may have to serve alongside women.
The IDF says that “soldiers who maintain a religious lifestyle are entitled to carry out operational activity within a gender-segregated framework, except in exceptional cases.”
“The force refused to carry out the operational activity, and as a result, the activity was canceled,” the military says.
The IDF says the incident is under further investigation and “command measures will be taken in accordance with its findings.”
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Wednesday, August 26, 2026
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