IDF soldiers removed from duty, punished after refusing orders to return and fight in Gaza
Soldiers from the Nahal Brigade face repurcussions after refusing orders to return to fight in Gaza due to “a deep, internal crisis.”
Four soldiers from the 931st Battalion in the Nahal Brigade informed their commanders that they refuse to engage in any further fighting in the Gaza Strip, Kan News reported on Sunday.
The four soldiers have been removed from active service for refusing orders, and three have been tried in military court, receiving sentences ranging from 7 to 12 days. The fourth has not been tried yet.
The soldiers have all undergone multiple rounds of fighting in Gaza and have all lost friends in the war. One of the four was injured on the Gaza border in 2024, and after recovery, returned to fight voluntarily.
“These things will be deeply etched into their souls,” one of their mothers told Kan.
According to Kan, the four announced that their refusal to fight came out of a “deep, internal crisis,” not fear. Despite this, the group claimed they were immediately imprisoned instead of being offered treatment.
IDF Nahal Brigade soldiers saluting at their end of the mission ceremonie (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON UNIT)
“Three soldiers from the Nahal Brigade refused to enter combat in the Gaza Strip,” the IDF responded to the incident.
“It should be noted that the soldiers were seen by a mental health officer (Kaban), who determined they were fit for combat. After a disciplinary process, the soldiers maintained their refusal and were therefore sentenced to imprisonment in a military jail.”
“The matter was handled with sensitivity and in accordance with regulations. The IDF views the refusal of an order very seriously, especially during wartime, and will continue to uphold discipline,” the military stated.
Additional soldiers’ refusal of orders
This is not the first time that soldiers have refused orders to resume fighting in Gaza, nor is it the first time the IDF has seemingly disregarded its soldiers’ mental health.
Earlier this month, a Kfir soldier serving in Gaza repeatedly asked to see a mental health officer but was refused, even after threatening to take his own life multiple times. Only after his fellow soldiers brought the severity of the situation to the attention of their battalion commander was he granted a visit.
In May, additional soldiers from Nahal were sentenced to suspended prison sentences after requesting to serve in rear-line positions because they were “tired of the continuous fighting,” according to Walla.
Other soldiers were driven by their anger, accusing the government of putting its desire to fight over the necessity of bringing the remaining hostages home. Last October, approximately 140 soldiers signed a letter expressing their refusal to continue to serve if the government did not advance a hostage deal.
More recently, in May 2025, Capt. (res.) Ron Feiner was sentenced to 20 days in military prison after refusing to return to reserve duty after almost three hundred days of service. Feiner cited moral obligations related to both the war and the government’s handling of hostage rescue efforts.
“I am horrified by the never-ending war in Gaza, the abandonment of the hostages, and the ongoing deaths of innocent people,” Feiner said in a statement following his sentencing. “I cannot morally continue to serve as long as this doesn’t change.”