UPDATE - Hundreds of Israeli veterans sign new petition to halt Gaza war, return of hostages

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By Said Amori and Rania Abu Shamala​​​​​​​

JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL (AA) - Hundreds of former soldiers from the Israeli army’s Golani Brigade signed a new petition Thursday demanding the return of hostages from the Gaza Strip and ending the war on the enclave.

“Hundreds of veterans from the Golani Brigade signed a new petition calling for the return of the captives, even at the cost of halting the war in Gaza,” the daily Haaretz said.

Additionally, 315 graduates of the Israeli army’s infantry and special forces units signed another petition echoing those demands.

“We support the message issued by the pilots on April 9, 2025, and call for the immediate return of the hostages, even if it requires an immediate halt to the fighting in Gaza”, said the petition signed by the veterans.

According to the Haaretz newspaper, among the signatories were former Golani Brigade commanders Uri Sagi, Ilan Biran and Emmanuel Hart.

The Golani Brigade is considered one of the elite units of the army, particularly within the infantry forces.

Around 300 civilian pilots in Israel signed a new petition demanding the return of the hostages and an end to the war on Gaza.

Channel 12 reported that the signatories represent nearly one-third of all civilian pilots in Israel.

Since April 10, a series of petitions have been launched calling for the return of hostages -- even if it means ending the war on Gaza. The petitions have come from various members of the military, including reservists eligible for call-up, retirees and prominent former commanders, and have since been joined by civilians and former police officers.

According to data from the Restart Israel platform, which allows Israelis to sign petitions online, more than 120,000 people had signed 43 petitions by Thursday -- including 16 signed by 10,000 current and former military personnel.

The petitions uniformly call for the release of 59 Israeli hostages who are being held in Gaza, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, and for a ceasefire.

On Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the military signatories of insubordination and threatened them with dismissal. He claimed foreign-funded groups were backing efforts to bring down his coalition, which took office in late 2022.

He described the petitioners as “a small, noisy, anarchistic, and disconnected group of pensioners” and said anyone inciting disobedience would be expelled.

The petition movement followed the collapse of the first phase of a ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal, which began Jan. 19 with Qatari and Egyptian mediation, and US support. While Hamas complied with the terms, Netanyahu, under pressure from his far-right coalition, refused to move to phase two. Israel resumed military operations March 18.

The second year of genocide in Gaza has seen more than 51,000 Palestinians killed since October 2023, the majority of them women and children.

In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.​​​​​​​

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its actions in the enclave.​​​​​​​