The letter, which has garnered approximately 1,200 signatures from reservists and active-duty officers across various military units, demands an immediate cessation of hostilities and the safe return of all hostages.
“We, former and current reserve IDF (army) officers and commanders, demand the government and chief of staff (Eyal Zamir) stop the political war in Gaza and immediately return all the hostages,” the letter states, as reported by the daily.
“Continuing the war goes against the will of an overwhelming majority of the public, will result in the deaths of hostages, IDF soldiers and innocent civilians, and may even lead to the commission of war crimes,” the letter warned.
The officers argue that “this is a war to prepare for the occupation of Gaza.”
The signatories also warned of the long-term psychological toll on soldiers “We are confident that the chief of staff will refuse any order that waves a ‘black flag’ and that could cause soldiers to carry out orders whose consequences will haunt them for the rest of their lives,” the letter reads.
The authors are the same group that issued a similar open letter last month, which called for the immediate return of hostages even if it required halting the war, according to the newspaper.
The April petitions have come from various members of the military, including reservists eligible for call-up, retirees and prominent former commanders, and was joined by civilians and former police officers.
The army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing over 54,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war crimes against defenseless civilians in the enclave.
