Protest and Distrust, Israeli Unit Refused Returning to Battle

Israeli media has uncovered a situation of protest and distrust within the occupation forces. Approximately half of the soldiers in a military company have declined to rejoin the battle. This development is set against the dismissal of two officers who chose to withdraw from battle when the military company was left without fire support in the Gaza Strip. 

The Israeli website Ynet titled its report on the incident “The battle in the Gaza Strip that dissolved the company: the expulsion of a company commander and his deputy as forces refused to return.”

Yoav Zeitoun, the military affairs correspondent for the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, verified that approximately half of the company’s soldiers had not rejoined the unit following the dismissal of the two officers. These officers, along with dozens of their subordinates, asserted that they did not receive fire support when confronting dozens of fighters, leading to their withdrawal.

According to Zeitoun, the investigation indicates inadequate preparation for the incursion. He noted that the Israeli military opted to dismiss both officers, the company commander and his deputy, following a battle in the northern Gaza Strip amid the ground operation. In this engagement, the force withdrew as they did not receive the necessary fire support when confronted by dozens of resistance fighters who ambushed the soldiers.

The uncommon incident triggered a significant crisis between the company commanders on one side and their fighters and the battalion commanders on the other. This resulted in nearly half of company soldiers choosing not to return to the unit, As the the brigade decided to back the battalion commander rather than the company commander, as detailed in Zeitoun’s report.

Strategy failure among Israeli forces

Brigade officers acknowledged that the force was “deployed on a mission under unfavorable conditions,” having been engaged in an extended operation in the Gaza envelope without adequate rest. They conceded that the incident had created a tense atmosphere within the battalion.

Consequently, a decision was made to withdraw the battalion from active combat to rest and refit, replacing the two officers leading the company amid confrontations. 

The report indicated that the same battalion was subjected to other severe incidents last month, which included injuries to other officers, in addition to the death of another officer in battle and the injury of the battalion commander, to whom the core of the dispute was linked, in recent days.

The report clarified that the subsequent investigation into the incident revealed flaws in the ground invasion, among the initial operations conducted by the brigade in the Gaza Strip. Quoting statements from company forces during the investigation, they expressed, “We entered a booby-trapped area, and numerous fighters relentlessly fired RPG shells at us with ceaseless intensity.”

For its part, the Israeli forces acknowledged the ongoing crisis, confirming that “soldiers from other units are being deployed to address the gap in the company where the incident took place.” The statement emphasized the emergence of a confidence crisis and highlighted the limited ability of the battalion commander to influence the course of the invasion.