Nearly 600 retired Israeli security officials and former intelligence agency heads have written to Donald Trump urging him to put pressure on Israel to end the war in Gaza immediately.
The Commanders For Israel’s Security (CIS) group sent a letter to the US President with 550 signatories, including fomer Mossad director Tamir Pardo, ex-Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon, and former deputy Israeli army chief Matan Vilnai.
The CIS movement is made up of retired senior defence and foreign service officials, who support a two-state solution to secure Israel’s future as “the strong democratic home of the Jewish people via separation from the Palestinians”.
“It is our professional judgement that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel,” reads the open letter, which was sent on Friday and shared with the media later. “You did it in Lebanon. Time to do it in Gaza as well.”
“Chasing remaining senior Hamas operatives can be done later. Our hostages can’t wait.”
The appeal comes as videos of two emaciated Israeli hostages in Gaza were released, sparking international condemnation and protests over the weekend.
Evyatar David, 24, and Rom Braslavski, 21, were abducted from the Nova music festival on 7 October 2023 and recorded in fragile condition.
They are among the 49 hostages believed still in Gaza, of whom 27 are believed to be dead.
French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz were among the leaders condemning the videos.
The footage sparked outrage in Israel, putting pressure on Netanyahu, who met with the International Committee of the Red Cross to ask that it bring hostages food and medicine - access that the organisation says has never been granted by Hamas.
The Israeli prime minister is set to meet with his security cabinet on Tuesday, where he will reportedly seek their backing to expand Israel’s offensive in Gaza and seize the entire enclave according to Israeli media.
Senior officials in Netanyahu’s office allegedly said: “The decision has been made - we're going to occupy Gaza”, according to Israeli news channel N12. The Independent has approached the Prime Minister’s Office to confirm these reports.
Netanyahu shared a video of himself at 9pm local time in which he said Israel was “committing to free Gaza from the tyranny of these terrorists” in reference to Hamas.
Protests also erupted in Tel Aviv on Sunday and in front of the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem on Monday, calling to end the war and release the hostages. Indirect ceasefire talks have stalled in recent weeks.
The letter argued that the IDF has achieved its military objectives - dismantling Hamas’ governance and military formations - and that securing the hostages now requires a deal.
The letter continued: “Your credibility with the vast majority of Israelis augments your ability to steer Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government in the right direction: End the war, return the hostages, stop the suffering, and forge a regional-international coalition that helps the Palestinian Authority (once reformed) to offer Gazans and all Palestinians an alternative to Hamas and its vicious ideology.”
A UN-backed food security agency warned that a ‘worst-case scenario of famine’ is unfolding in the besieged enclave.
More than 60,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
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