Israel moves to dismiss military doctors who signed petition for end to Gaza war, return of hostages

JERUSALEM

The Israeli army has begun punitive actions against reserve military doctors who signed a petition demanding the return of hostages from Gaza and the ending of the war in the Palestinian enclave.

In a statement, the signatories said that the Medical Corps has started measures to deter and isolate those who endorsed the letter.

Senior officials in the corps have been calling reserve doctors individually to urge them to withdraw their signatures or be dismissed.

At least one woman doctor who signed the petition has already been dismissed from service in an Air Force medical unit, the statement said.

The petition, signed by dozens of reservist doctors last Thursday, urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and the Israeli military to secure the return of hostages from Gaza, even at the cost of a ceasefire.

The signatories said Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir instructed commanders to stress to reservist doctors that “there is no place for politics in the army.”

An unnamed military source told Haaretz that the army’s goal is to send a clear message that it “stands above political divisions” and that reservists cannot use their military status to advocate ending a war in which they are actively participating.

The Israeli army has mobilized about 360,000 reservists for its ongoing genocidal war in Gaza.

Tel Aviv estimates that 59 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, 24 of whom are believed to be alive. Meanwhile, Israel is holding over 9,500 Palestinians in its prisons, where detainees face torture, starvation, and medical neglect, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups.

The petition by military doctors was followed by similar appeals from veterans and active reservists, civilians, and former police officers for ending the war, which they say does not serve Israel’s security but rather the political interests of Netanyahu and his government.

According to the independent platform “Restart Israel,” over 110,000 Israelis have signed 37 petitions on the site as of Wednesday, including eight petitions backed by about 10,000 reservists and veterans.

Netanyahu has threatened to dismiss active-duty soldiers who signed the petitions.

The petitions follow the collapse of the first phase of a ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal that came into effect on Jan. 19, mediated by Qatar and Egypt with US support. Hamas adhered to the terms, but Netanyahu, facing pressure from his far-right coalition, refused to proceed to phase two, resuming military operations on March 18.

More than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November 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.