IDF 54th Battalion memorial, Military cenotaph in Negev, Israel.

The 54th Battalion Memorial stands beside Route 232, south of Kokhav Michael, on the battlefield of the Hulikat outposts. A path leads to a tall pillar on a rectangular base in a paved plaza ringed by trees. Three long upward-pointing arrows, the emblem of the southern front, are carved on the pillar's front, with the Givati Brigade insignia below.

The 54th Battalion was formed in Tel Aviv within the Givati Brigade after the 1948 war began, continuing the Field Corps' 1st Battalion founded in 1946. It fought in the Nakhshon and Harel operations, moved south in April 1948 to block the Egyptian advance, took part in Operation Yoav and the siege of the Faluja pocket, and lost 126 soldiers. Veterans and bereaved families initiated the memorial, but construction delays meant the unveiling took place only on 26 November 1952.

The inscription on the base was composed by Abba Kovner: "Traveller, as you descend to the Negev, remember us." Flanking it are the IDF emblem and the battalion's insignia, and the rear face lists the battalion's operations from the outbreak of the war to the end of 1949. Signs in Hebrew and English about the battalion and the Holiqat battles were placed at the path entrance in 2008.

The site is freely accessible and requires no special arrangements to visit. It is wise to prepare for the hot and dry desert conditions by bringing adequate water and sun protection.

The memorial was the first in Israel to commemorate the fallen of a specific battalion. About half a kilometre south stands the memorial to the 52nd Battalion, and in 2008 Hebrew and English signs about the battalion and the battles of Hulikat were placed at the start of the path leading to the monument.