Tel Aviv: According to a report by Al Jazeera on Tuesday, Israeli troops have signed a petition demanding an end to the conflict in Gaza and an acceleration of talks for the repatriation of local prisoners from the war-torn region.
According to Israeli Army Radio, which Al Jazeera quoted, 150 soldiers of the Golani Brigade have joined the demand to cease the war, joining hundreds of others in a show of disapproval that has concerned the Israeli government.
Since last week, a number of petitions have been making the rounds among the Israeli military. Following the first, which was signed by 1,000 Israeli Air Force reserves, subsequent ones were sent to officers and veterans serving in the navy, armored corps, and other military forces. On Sunday, 200 Israeli military physicians signed a different petition.
According to Al Jazeera, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to fire active-duty troops who sign petitions.
The movement’s spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, told Al Jazeera that the “request to disarm Hamas is not acceptable to even hear” and that Hamas aims to reply “as soon as possible” to Israel’s fresh ceasefire proposal. Since Monday morning, Israeli soldiers have attacked Gaza, killing at least 15 Palestinians, according to Al Jazeera. The most recent raids have targeted tent shelters in the enclave’s north and south.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, the Israel-Gaza war has resulted in at least 50,983 documented Palestinian deaths and 116,274 injuries. On October 7, 2023, Hamas-led strikes in Israel claimed the lives of at least 1,139 persons. According to Al Jazeera, more than 200 were captured.
In its most recent monthly report, the UN humanitarian organization Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also said that “violence is surging” in the occupied West Bank.
“Aid groups are stepping in, but we must not let the West Bank become another Gaza,” said a post on X from OCHA’s office in Palestine.
In January and February of 2025, 44,285 persons were displaced in the occupied West Bank, according to statistics from OCHA. The great majority of people, 38,710, were displaced as a result of violence between Palestinian rebels and Israeli forces in the northern West Bank.
