Israeli officers rebel against ‘illegal, unnecessary' Gaza war: ‘Designed to preserve Netanyahu’s rule'

As Israel continues its relentless bombardment of Gaza while imposing starvation on its population, a few Israeli military officers have taken a stand against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s orders. Refusing to be complicit in the killing of “innocent civilians,” they’ve openly rebelled against what they call an “illegal and unnecessary” war.

In a letter to Benjamin Netanyahu, the military intelligence officers have refused to be a part of the war any further. They said the 41 officers, who have signed the letter, would refuse to take part in a “war designed to preserve the rule of Netanyahu” and appease “anti-democratic and messianic elements in [his] government”.

“When a government acts for ulterior motives, harms civilians and leads to the killing of innocent people, the orders it issues are clearly illegal, and we must not obey them,” they said.

They also accused the Israeli government of abandoning the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, saying many have already been killed by the IDF bombings. They said Israel risked the live of Israeli hostages when it chose to break the ceasefire.

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One of the intelligence officers told The Guardian, “The hope is that as many people as possible will challenge the legitimacy of this operation and of this government. All the death is unnecessary. The hostages suffer and die. Soldiers are sent for nothing. And all the killing in Gaza, everything is completely unnecessary.”

The Palestinian death toll from the 20-month Israel-Hamas war passed 55,000, the Gaza Health Ministry said Wednesday, and hospitals said at least 21 people were killed while on their way to aid distribution sites. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which operates the aid distribution sites, said at least five of its local aid workers were killed in an attack that it blamed on Hamas as they headed to one of the centers.