JERUSALEM — Brig.-Gen. Yisrael Shomer resigned from the Israel Defense Forces effective immediately on June 3, 2026, following questioning by military police over allegations of a consensual relationship with an officer under his command. Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir accepted the resignation, which Shomer submitted to Maj.-Gen. Itzik Cohen, head of the Operations Branch. Shomer officially retired from the IDF that evening.
Shomer served as head of the IDF General Staff Operations Division, overseeing all operational planning across combat arenas. Zamir had intended to suspend Shomer following the investigation.
Shomer’s military career began with his enlistment in the Nahal Brigade’s 50th Battalion. He completed combat training, the infantry squad commanders course, and the infantry officers course, and served as a platoon commander and company commander in the same battalion. He later led the Nahal Brigade’s reconnaissance battalion.
In 2014, Shomer was promoted to colonel and appointed commander of the Binyamin Brigade. In July 2015, he fired three shots that killed 17-year-old Muhammad Al-Hani Al-Kasbeh at the Kalandiya refugee camp. An investigation found the shooting, conducted while Shomer was in motion and without using weapon sights, violated open-fire regulations. The Military Advocate General closed the case on April 10, 2016, ruling it an operational error that did not meet the threshold for criminal charges.
In 2017, Shomer was appointed General Officer Commanding Operations of the Southern Command, a role he held until 2019. In November 2018, then-Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot postponed Shomer’s promotion due to a professional lapse. In 2019, Shomer became commander of the Nahal Brigade and held the post until June 28, 2021. He resumed command briefly on July 1, 2021, following the death of his successor, Col. Sharon Asman, and served for several months.
Promoted to brigadier-general in 2023, Shomer was appointed commander of the “HaMapatz” Division. On October 7, 2025, militants infiltrated Kfar Aza, where Shomer resided. He armed himself with a kitchen knife and joined soldiers from the Golani Brigade's 13th Battalion in defending the kibbutz. During the ensuing war, while his division conducted defensive operations in the North, he was appointed head of the Operations Division.