![Civil defense teams and residents of the region carry out search and rescue operations in the rubble of the Menon family's apartment building, targeted in an Israeli attack in the Jabalia Refugee Camp in northern Gaza City, Gaza on April 13, 2025. [Mahmoud İssa - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/AA-20250413-37623006-37622993-ISRAEL_TARGETS_A_FAMILY_HOUSE_IN_GAZAS_JABALIA_CAMP-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C778&ssl=1)
Six hundred Israeli architects and urban planners have signed a petition demanding the return of captives from the Gaza Strip by immediately halting the war on the Strip.
The Hebrew news site the Times of Israel reported today that “600 architects, engineers, and urban planners signed a petition demanding the return of the hostages without delay, even at the expense of an immediate cessation of hostilities.”
This petition preceded a similar move by 970 reservists and retirees of the Israeli Air Force on 10 April, demanding the return of the captives even at the expense of an end to the war in Gaza.
Since then, thousands of reservists and retirees from various branches of the Israeli military and intelligence have joined the petition.
Meanwhile, academics, parents of students, fathers and mothers of soldiers, and families of prisoners in Gaza published messages of solidarity with the military, emphasising the same demand.
READ: Hundreds of Israeli authors urge Netanyahu to end Gaza war, secure captives’ release