Thousands of Israeli soldiers call for an end to the war in Gaza

CairoAt the gates of Easter, A group of nearly a thousand Israeli Air Force reservists published a letter This has caused a political earthquake in the country. The brief statement was limited to demanding an end to the war in Gaza to ensure the return of the hostages still in the Strip. But it was quickly rejected by the government and the army leadership, triggering an unprecedented domino effect of similar demands from thousands of veterans, reservists, and active members of the army and state security forces.

The initial text consists of only seven sentences, but its content resonates with broad sectors of Israeli society. "At this point, the war serves political and personal interests, not security interests," it says, referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, "and continuing the war contributes to none of the stated objectives." "As has been demonstrated in the past, only an agreement can return the hostages safe and sound," the letter adds, ending by calling on "all citizens of Israel to mobilize" in defense of these demands.

The response from the army's top brass—including Air Force Commander Tomer Bar and the Army Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir—began before the letter was published, attempting to stop it, state-run Kan TV reported. However, only a minority backed down, and once the letter was released, the army announced it would take disciplinary action against all active reservists who had signed it.

Despite the sharp response from the military leadership, just hours after the publication, around 150 retired Israeli naval officers released another letter expressing "serious suspicions" about the "illegitimate considerations" that are dictating the government's security decisions. The group also considered that resuming the war now makes the release of the hostages more difficult.

Chain reaction

Since then, there has been a cascade of similar letters published by thousands of veterans, reservists, and active-duty soldiers from various army units, some of whom have also criticized the attempt to silence air force reservists. Last Friday, they were veterans of infantry and paratrooper units; on Monday, veterans and reservists primarily from the armored corps; and on Tuesday, officers from the navy and other special operations and cyber forces.

Hundreds of veterans, reservists, and active-duty members of the army's elite signals intelligence unit, as well as the foreign intelligence service—the notorious Mossad—the military intelligence directorate, and the domestic intelligence agency, the Shin Bet, have also joined them. Among the latest to publish similar demands is a group of more than 200 former police commissioners, commanders, and officers who took the step this past Wednesday.

One factor that appears to have contributed to the succession of public letters from the military and state security apparatus is Netanyahu's reaction. In a statement issued the day the first text was published, the prime minister called it "unforgivable," accused the signatories of being "a marginal and extremist group" trying to "break up society" and "overthrow the government," and asserted that they represent "neither the fighters nor the people."

However, polls show a different reality. A survey conducted between March and April by the Israel Democracy Institute reveals that nearly 70% of Israelis prioritize freeing the hostages and 25% prioritize overthrowing Hamas. Similarly, 61% of the public (and 54% of Jews) believe the government is not doing everything possible to secure the return of the hostages; and 54% believe the return from the war in March was primarily due to political considerations (46% among Jews).

However, the succession of letters has not translated into a momentum for the protest movement against Netanyahu, and none of the signatory groups has proposed ceasing to serve in the army while obeying orders from the current government, so for now they do not pose a threat to the executive branch. Before the start of the war in October 2023, however, army circles that had also publicly positioned themselves against the same government's plans to weaken the independence of the judiciary did announce they would no longer serve, but they did not follow through on the threat following the Palestinian attacks of October 7.

In this regard, the letters published so far all call for an end to the war to ensure the return of the hostages. But none of them demand it because of the devastating impact of Israel's military operation in Gaza, which has already left more than 51,000 dead and more than twice as many wounded, displaced almost the entire population, and devastated most of the territory.