Scores of Israeli Soldiers Leave Base After Morale Plaques Destroyed

Around 100 soldiers from the Givati Brigade’s Tzabar Battalion walked off the Sde Teiman military base following a dispute with senior commanders. The mass departure occurred after a battalion commander insisted on removing and destroying company insignias and symbols, reportedly using a five-kilogram sledgehammer to smash them. Soldiers stated that the destroyed symbols had been acquired during combat operations in Gaza and Lebanon and carried significant traditional value within the unit. While military officials are threatening severe disciplinary action, many soldiers have refused to return, citing the destruction of their insignias as humiliating.