UPDATE - Over 250 former Israeli intelligence officers call for end to Gaza war, return of hostages

- CHANGES DECK, ADDS MORE DETAILS, BACKGROUND

By Said Amori and Mohammad Sio

JERUSALEM (AA) - More than 250 former members of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad have signed a petition demanding an immediate end to the war in Gaza to facilitate the release of all hostages, local media reported Sunday.

“The letter, initiated by former senior Mossad officer Gail Shorsh, bears the signatures of three former Mossad chiefs – Danny Yatom, Ephraim Halevy and Tamir Pardo – as well as dozens of department heads and deputy department heads within the agency,” said the Yedioth Ahronoth daily.

The petition adds to a growing wave of public dissent within Israel’s security establishment.

It demands that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government prioritize the release of Israeli captives in Gaza, even at the cost of ending the war in the Palestinian enclave, the report added.

Israel estimates that 59 hostages remain in Gaza, including 24 believed to be alive. Meanwhile, over 9,500 Palestinians are imprisoned in Israel, many of whom face torture, starvation and medical neglect, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights reports.

Earlier Sunday, around 200 active military reservist doctors also signed a petition demanding an end to the war and the return of hostages held in Gaza.

Their appeal is part of a broader wave of petitions from current and former Israeli military personnel demanding the hostages’ release.

At least seven petitions have now circulated since Thursday.

The first was signed by around 1,000 Israeli Air Force reservists and was later joined by nearly 1,000 academics.

A second petition came from reservists in the armored corps and navy. A third petition was signed by dozens of military doctors. A fourth petition was signed by hundreds of reservists from the military’s elite Unit 8200.

A fifth petition was signed by special forces including the Paratroopers’ 13th Battalion and Shaldag, Sayeret Matkal and Moran units.

The sixth petition, endorsed by 200 doctors across various military units, was followed by the seventh from the over 250 former Mossad members.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to fire active soldiers who signed any petition.

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

More than 50,900 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 Israeli 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.