Israeli army says it will fire air force reservists who signed letter condemning Gaza war

Israel's military said Friday it will fire air force reservists who signed a letter condemning the war in Gaza and accusing it of only serving political interests and not bringing the hostages home. 

In a statement to The Associated Press, an army official said there was no room for any body or individual, including reservists in active duty, "to exploit their military status while simultaneously participating in the fighting," calling it a breach of trust between commanders and subordinates. 

The army said it decided that any active reservist who signed the letter will not be able to continue serving. It did not specify how many people that included, or if the firings had begun. 

Nearly 1,000 Israeli Air Force reservists and retirees signed a letter, published in Israeli media on Thursday, demanding the immediate return of the hostages, even at the cost of ending the fighting.

The letter comes as Israel ramps up its offensive in Gaza, trying to pressure Hamas to agree to free hostages, 59 of whom are still being held, more than half of which are dead.

Israel has imposed a blockade on food, fuel and humanitarian aid that has left civilians facing acute shortages as supplies dwindle. It has pledged to seize large parts of the Palestinian territory and establish a new security corridor through it. 

While the soldiers who signed the letter didn't refuse to keep serving, it's part of a growing number of Israeli soldiers speaking out against the 18-month conflict, some saying they saw or did things that crossed ethical lines. 

"It's completely illogical and irresponsible on behalf of the Israeli policy makers … risking the lives of the hostages, risking the lives of more soldiers and risking lives of many, many more innocent Palestinians, while it had a very clear alternative," Guy Poran, a retired Israeli Air Force pilot who spearheaded the letter, told The Associated Press. 

He said he's not aware of anyone who signed the letter being fired, and since it was published, it has gained dozens more signatures.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu downplayed the letter on Friday, saying it was written by a "small handful of weeds, operated by foreign-funded NGOs whose sole goal is to overthrow the right-wing government." He said anyone who encourages refusal to serve in the army will be immediately dismissed.

Soldiers are required to steer clear of politics, and they rarely speak out against the army. After Hamas stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel quickly united behind the war launched against the Palestinian militant group.

Divisions in Israel have grown as the war progresses, but most criticism has focused on the mounting number of soldiers killed and the failure to bring home hostages, not actions in Gaza.

Advocates for hostage return keep up pressure

Freed hostages and their families are doing what they can to keep attention on their plight, and urge the government to get everyone out.

For Holocaust Remembrance Day this year, Agam Berger, a military spotter who was taken hostage and freed in January, will perform at a March of the Living Ceremony in Poland — a yearly memorial march at the site of Auschwitz that honours the six million Jews killed by Nazi Germany and celebrates the state of Israel.

Berger will play a 130-year-old violin that survived the Holocaust and was brought to Israel, at the main ceremony in the Birkenau concentration camp. She'll be accompanied by singer Daniel Weiss, a resident of Kibbutz Be'eri whose parents were murdered on Oct. 7. 

The war in Gaza shows no signs of slowing. 

Since Israel ended an eight-week ceasefire last month, it said it will push further into Gaza until Hamas releases the hostages. More than 1,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire collapsed, according to the United Nations. 

The Israeli military on Friday issued an urgent warning to residents in several neighbourhoods in northern Gaza, calling on them to evacuate immediately. At least 26 people have been killed and more than 100 others wounded in the last 24 hours, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants.