TEL AVIV: A group of 1,000 current and former Israeli Air Force reservists on Thursday called for the return of all hostages held in Gaza, even if Israel has to end the war.
“The continuation of the war doesn’t advance any of the declared goals of the war,” says a letter published by the reservists.
The letter stressed the immediate return of Israeli hostages from Gaza, adding that the current war is going on 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,” the reservists said.
Former army chief Dan Halutz is one of the signatories of the letter.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the demand and called the signatories of the letter “a group of fringe extremists”.
The Israeli military resumed its deadly offensive on Gaza on March 18, resulting in the deaths of over 1,500 Palestinians and injuring around 3,800 more. This escalation has effectively broken the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement reached in January.
Efforts to restore the truce and release more hostages have so far failed.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said at least 23 people, including women and children, were killed in the strike on Wednesday, which destroyed a four-story residential building.
Last week, Netanyahu vowed to intensify the assault on Gaza, amid ongoing efforts linked to former US President Donald Trump’s plan, which critics say aims to displace Palestinians from the enclave.
According to the Gaza health ministry, since the beginning of the Israeli offensive in October 2023, at least 50,886 Palestinians—primarily women and children—have lost their lives in the ongoing bombardment.
Hamas welcomes France’s plan for Palestinian state
A Hamas official said on Thursday that the group welcomed the announcement by French President Emmanuel Macron that Paris could recognise a Palestinian state by June, terming it as an “important step”.
“France, as a country with political weight and a permanent member of the (UN) Security Council, has the ability to influence the course of fair solutions and push towards ending the occupation and achieving the aspirations of the Palestinian people,” Mahmud Mardawi said.
Pakistan condemns Israeli aggression
Pakistan’s Foreign Office Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan at his weekly media briefing on Thursday condemned the continued aggression and atrocities committed by Israeli occupying forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly in Gaza.
“The indiscriminate violence has claimed thousands of innocent Palestinian lives, including women, children, medical personnel, journalists and humanitarian workers, marking yet another dark chapter in Israel’s brutal occupation,” the Spokesperson said.
He demanded that the international community take immediate notice of this barbarity and stop this blatant violation of international law and the charter of the United Nations.
