April 10, 2025 | 07:26 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A group of 1,000 reserve soldiers from the Israeli Air Force, on active duty and retired, called on Thursday, April 10, 2025, for all prisoners held in the Gaza Strip to be returned, "even if it means ending the war."
"The continuation of the war doesn’t advance any of the declared goals of the war, and will bring about the deaths of the hostages, IDF (army) soldiers and innocent civilians," reads the letter issued by the reserve soldiers in Israeli media, as reported by Anadolu.
The letter calls for Israeli prisoners to be "immediate return" from Gaza, stating that the current attack on Gaza is happening for "political and personal interests."
“Only an agreement can return hostages safely, while military pressure mainly leads to the killing of hostages and the endangerment of our soldiers," said the reserve soldiers, urging Israelis "to mobilize for action."
One of the officials who signed the letter is former Chief of the Israel Defense Forces, Dan Halutz.
Israel estimates that 59 hostages are still held in Gaza, with at least 22 of them still alive.
They are expected to be released in the second stage of the Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement. This second stage agreement requires Israel to fully withdraw its troops from Gaza and end the war permanently.
However, the Israeli military violated the ceasefire by launching deadly attacks in Gaza on March 18.
Israel's attacks since then have killed nearly 1,500 Palestinians, mostly children, injured 3,700 others, and destroyed the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement signed in January.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised last week to escalate attacks on Gaza. This is an effort to implement the plan of U.S. President Donald Trump to drive Palestinians out of that area.
Almost 50,900 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in Israel's brutal attacks since October 2023, most of them women and children.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel is also facing a genocide case in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its war in that area.
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