Israel’s Golani Brigade Turns Tail From Gaza

Israel’s Channel 13 reported on 21 December that the army’s elite Golani Brigade withdrew from Gaza following 60 days of fighting to “reorganize its ranks” after facing unprecedented losses during the first weeks of battle in the strip.

The news comes days after it was reported that the elite infantry unit had suffered major losses during the ground assault on Gaza.

Retired Israeli general Moshe Kaplinsky said this week that the Golani Brigade lost 88 soldiers since 7 October. According to the retired general, 72 were killed on the first day of the war – amounting to a quarter of the entire brigade.

In late October, Israel expanded the limited incursions it was carrying out in Gaza into a full-scale ground assault. Since then, Israeli troops have fallen into bloody ambushes laid by the Gaza resistance daily.

The withdrawal of the Golani Brigade came one day after the Israeli army claimed in a statement that it had achieved “operational control” over the Shujaiya neighborhood in northern Gaza. While the ground war is now focused on the south of Gaza, battles continue to rage across the north of the strip – despite the army previously claiming to have dealt a significant blow to the Hamas presence there.

According to Palestine Chronicle, Israel announced control over Shujaiya “to reduce the shock of the news that its most elite fighting force had essentially been defeated, forcing it to an early retreat.”

The Shujaiya neighborhood in north Gaza is where the Israeli army has faced some of the stiffest resistance since the start of the ground war.

Footage released on 21 December shows the exact moment a force of elite Golani Brigade soldiers was attacked in Shujaiya. Screams are heard as the troops scramble to treat a wounded soldier, whose go-pro camera recorded the incident.