Over 1,000 Israeli Air force personnel call to end Gaza war

Nearly 1,000 Israeli Air Force personnel published a letter today calling to end the war in Gaza and return Israeli captives from there, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported.

“Currently, the war serves mainly political and personal interests, not security interests. The continuation of the war does not contribute to any of its declared goals and will lead to the deaths of the hostages, Israeli soldiers and innocent civilians, and to the attrition of the IDF [occupation army] reserve forces,” wrote active reservists and former senior officials in the letter.

“As has been proven in the past, only a deal can bring back the hostages safely, while military pressure mainly leads to the killing of the hostages and the endangerment of our soldiers,” they continued, warning: “Every day that passes puts their lives at risk.”

Following its publication, Israel army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and the Israeli Air Force commander Major General Tomer Bar announced their decision to dismiss active duty reservists from army service.

In spite of this, only 25 of the 970 Israeli Air Force reservists who signed the letter agreed to a retraction.

READ: Israeli threatens to expel 970 pilots over Gaza war protest