The Golani Brigade, once celebrated as heroes in Israel's military history, faces scrutiny after a deadly incident at Nasser Hospital in Gaza. The attack, which killed 20 people including journalists, has sparked international criticism and highlighted the complexities of the ongoing conflict. As Israel's global reputation suffers, the brigade's actions are under intense examination, reflecting the broader challenges of the Gaza war.
Golani Brigade: From Heroes to Controversy in Gaza Conflict
Golani Brigade: From Heroes to Controversy in Gaza Conflict
The Golani Brigade is the elite unit that has fought in all of Israel's wars. For Israelis, they are heroes, but now they risk becoming symbols of everything that has gone wrong in Gaza.
We still do not know exactly what happened when 20 people—including five Palestinian journalists—were killed at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on Monday.
However, the deadly pieces of the puzzle are beginning to fall into place. The Israeli military claims that Hamas set up a surveillance camera in the area, which was the target of the Israeli shells.
It is true that there was a camera on the roof. It had been there for a while, but it was operated by the news agency Reuters and streamed live broadcasts from there.
The Israeli military has also claimed that several of the journalists had terrorist connections, but has not really presented any evidence for this.
A couple of them worked for major international news agencies. They often gathered there on the roof of Nasser Hospital, and the reason is quite simple.
It was one of the few places where they had a good internet connection. The hospital is also one of the few in Gaza that functions, a natural place for journalists to be.
According to the Daily Telegraph and Israeli media reports, it was an Israeli tank that opened fire. Twice, with a ten-minute interval.
The tank operated together with Israeli soldiers from the so-called Golani Brigade, about 1.5 kilometers from the hospital.
It was at the request of the Golani unit that the Merkava tank fired the two 120 mm shells, according to Israeli media citing military sources.
Why they fired twice is unclear. If the target was a camera, one shot should have sufficed.
It was the second shell that claimed most of the casualties. Rescue workers had rushed there to help.
This is not the first time the Golani Brigade has made headlines in this war. It was also soldiers from there who earlier this year opened fire on a group of Palestinian ambulances.
The Israeli soldiers then buried the 15 people who were killed in a mass grave. A deputy commander had to leave his post because he "left an incomplete and incorrect report" about what happened.
It remains to be seen if there will be any legal repercussions in Israel against those involved in the shooting. Israel has often investigated and held those responsible accountable when abuses have been committed in the past.
After the shooting on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly said he "deeply regretted" what he described as "an accident." It is rare for him to express regret in this war.
But the massacre of the journalists came at a time when Israel has become increasingly isolated, and where "genocide" and "starvation" are more frequently used to describe what is happening in Gaza, after nearly two years of war there.
And just as Israel's reputation in the world has rarely been worse, the Golani Brigade has also been tarnished by what has happened in the war, most recently at Nasser Hospital.
The unit was formed during the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948 when the state of Israel was born. Golani has fought in all of Israel's wars, including the famous hostage rescue at Entebbe Airport in 1976.
This war is partly a hostage drama as well, but very few have been rescued through commando raids this time. About 20 hostages are still believed to be alive.
Hamas's attack on October 7, 2023, was Israel's darkest day with over 1,200 dead, the deadliest in the country's history.
The war in Gaza creates very few heroes
It was also the darkest for the Golani Brigade. 72 soldiers from there were killed that day. No unit suffered higher losses.
Many of the fallen soldiers' colleagues got a kind of revenge when they already in November 2023 took over the local parliament building in Gaza City. Soldiers from there also posed at Hamas's police headquarters and the governor's residence.
Optimists then felt that this conflict might be quite short-lived after all. It was not.
Over 60,000 have now been killed in Gaza. A UN report warned last week that starvation is now prevailing.
The world saw the Golani Brigade as heroes after "Operation Thunderbolt," the hostage rescue in 1976. Not anymore.
The war in Gaza 2025 creates very few heroes, but many more victims. And now Gaza City is to be conquered again.