Over 1,500 Israeli armored corps troops demand end to Gaza war, return of hostages

JERUSALEM /ISTANBUL

Over 1,500 Israeli armored corps troops, including generals, signed a petition on Monday demanding the Israeli government prioritize the return of hostages held in Gaza, even if it comes at the cost of ending the war in the enclave.

According to the daily Maariv, the petition was signed by 1,525 members of the armored corps, ranging from riflemen to generals.

They called on the government “to do everything possible to secure the release of the hostages – even if it comes at the cost of halting the fighting.”

Signatories include soldiers who served in the tank units and later became civilians without attending officer school, veteran soldiers, junior commanders, as well as former senior Israeli military officers, including former heads of the armored corps and division commanders, Maariv said.

The list of signatories also includes former Prime Minister and army chief Ehud Barak, former Central Command Chief Amram Mitzna, former Chief of Staff Dan Halutz, former Head of Military Intelligence Amos Malka, former Central Command Chief Avi Mizrahi, and former Commander of the 14th Armored Brigade Amnon Reshef.

The petition was part of a wider wave of public appeals from current and former Israeli military personnel demanding the return of hostages and ending the war.

Nearly ten petitions have so far been issued by soldiers demanding an end to the Gaza war since Thursday, according to an Anadolu count.

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

The Israeli army renewed its assault on Gaza on March 18, shattering a Jan. 19 ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.

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

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.