Israeli Air Force veterans criticize Gaza war recovery

Nearly 1,000 current and former members of the Israeli Air Force signed a letter denouncing the new military movement in Gaza, sparking strong opposition from the government and military leadership.

The signatories accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of continuing the war to serve “political and personal interests” rather than Israel’s security.

They urged leaders to prioritize a deal to free all hostages in Gaza sites, even if it means ending the war against Hamas. They warned that continuing to fight could sacrifice the lives of hostages, Israeli soldiers and innocent civilians.

Most of the signings are retirees, although some of some of these active reserves are reportedly. The Air Force plans to dismiss any participating service members, which Netanyahu supports on Thursday.

He denounced the group as a “rigid brim” with the aim of “overthrowing” the government, saying the letter destroyed the army and incited Israel’s enemies.

Some signatories rejected the charges. “The letter expresses a large part of the public’s feelings,” amnon Scharabi said in a press conference. The reserve staff did not care about the Air Force or the pilot, “but there were about 59 hostages who were supposed to have been released some time ago,” he said.

Netanyahu critics accused him of re-clicking on the conflict to safeguard his political future.

If the state budget is not passed by the end of March, his government is at risk of collapse – failure will trigger new elections. To secure the budget, Netanyahu needs the support of a far-right minister who protested over a ceasefire with Hamas. The minister rejoined the league after the fight resumed in mid-March.

Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that the reservists were growing more and more resilient, some of whom refused to worry about the direction of the army and the potential reoccupation of Gaza.