UPDATE 2 - 1,000 Israeli Air Force reservists demand end to Gaza war to return captives

UPDATES WITH NEW PETITION BY ISRAELI NAVY OFFICERS

By Abdelraouf Arnaout and Ahmed Asmar

JERUSALEM / ANKARA (AA) – A group of 1,000 current and former Israeli Air Force reservists called on Thursday for the return of all captives held in the Gaza Strip, “even if it means ending the war.”

“The continuation of the war doesn’t advance any of the declared goals of the war, and will bring about the deaths of the hostages, IDF (army) soldiers and innocent civilians,” read a letter published by reservists in Israeli media.

The letter called for the “immediate return” of Israeli captives from Gaza, saying that the current war is going on for “political and personal interests.”

“Only an agreement can return hostages safely, while military pressure mainly leads to the killing of hostages and the endangerment of our soldiers,” the reservists said, calling on Israelis “to mobilize for action.”

The letter's signatures included former army chief Dan Halutz.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the signatories as “a group of fringe extremists.”

They “are a group of fringe extremists who are trying once again to break Israeli society from within,” he said in a statement.

The premier accused the signatories of “acting toward one goal – bringing down the government. They don’t represent the soldiers or the public.”

Defense Minister Israel Katz said the letter undermines the “legitimacy” of the war on Gaza, urging the army and air force chiefs to handle the issue "in the most appropriate way."

According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the air force chief decided to dismiss active reservists who signed the letter, without mentioning their number.

Meanwhile, nearly 150 officers from the Israeli Navy signed a petition calling on Netanyahu’s government to stop the war in Gaza and secure the release of hostages held there, according to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

Channel 12 reported that hundreds of fighters who served in the past and are still serving in the reserves in the Armored Corps and the Navy joined the Air Force protest and sent two additional letters calling for an end to the Gaza war and the return of the hostages.

Israel estimates that 59 hostages are still held in Gaza, with at least 22 of them alive. They were expected to be set free in a second phase of the Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement, which would require Israel to fully withdraw its forces from Gaza and end the war permanently.

But Israel renewed the assault and broke the January ceasefire agreement. It has killed more than 50,800 Palestinians in Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, and reduced the enclave to a rubble.

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 on the enclave.