Israel Golani brigade commander dismissed for 'endangering forces' in Gaza

An Israeli army commander was dismissed from his position for endangering soldiers during their war on Gaza, Israeli media reported Monday.

The commander, from the 51st Battalion of the Golani Brigade, had put the Israeli soldiers in danger in the Gaza City district of Shujaiya three weeks ago during a period of intense fighting in the area, news outlet N12 reported.

The commander also asked the soldiers to enter houses in the area, despite fears that the buildings were boobytrapped, defying orders from superiors.

Another commander then ordered that the soldiers not enter the houses. No casualties were incurred in the incident, N12 reported, and the commander has since been replaced.

Another Golani battalion, the 13th, left Shujaiya last week after suffering heavy losses, with control of the area transferred to another force.

The Shujaiya district, one of Gaza's largest and most densely populated, has long been where the Israeli army has suffered some of its biggest losses in its wars on the Palestinian territory.

Situated close to the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, the district's commanding views and strategic access to the whole of Gaza City give it great strategic importance.

The area is now reportedly the location of elite forces of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.

Israel launched its latest war on Gaza on 7 October, the day Hamas fighters launched a large-scale attack on Israel that killed an estimated 1,139 people and saw scores more taken hostage.

Israel's brutal air and ground assault on Gaza has killed more than 20,600 people, mostly women and children, and displaced almost all of the Palestinian territory's more than two million inhabitants.