Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch, whose performance was widely criticized during the Second Lebanon War, has been appointed deputy head of a new IDF command tasked with "spearheading in-depth strategic operations."
The new command will consist of a small number of officers who will deal with operations carried out far from Israel, sources at the Israel Defense Forces said.
Hirsch, formerly a division commander, resigned after the war amid criticism from both above and below. He was also slammed for his involvement in the 2006 incident on the Lebanese border in which reserve soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were killed, helping spark the war. Their bodies were returned in a prisoner swap two years later.
The Almog Committee that investigated the incident recommended that Hirsch not be promoted. It also wanted him banned from serving in a command. Hirsch resigned just before the committee released its report.
IDF sources said Hirsch was appointed to the new command as a reserve officer, like the deputy commanders of other commands and headquarters.
