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Express Tribune
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Nearly 140,000 Israelis sign petition urging hostage deal to end Gaza war
Listen to article Israeli signers of petitions demanding captives' return in exchange for ending war on Gaza jump to 140,000 Signatories include thousands of former soldiers, senior military officials, and civilians demanding a hostage deal over continued fighting The number of Israelis who signed petitions demanding the return of captives from Gaza even at the cost of halting the war climbed to nearly 140,000 as of Saturday, according to the campaign, which is gaining momentum across Israeli society. The movement, coordinated through the website Restored Israel, reflects growing frustration over the government's military strategy and its failure to secure the release of captives. In the past 24 hours alone, over 10,000 new signatories joined the campaign. As of early Saturday, the total number of signatures had reached 138,434, up from 128,114 on Friday. The number is expected to continue rising. According to the platform, the number of petitions available for public signature rose from 47 on Friday to 50 by Saturday, including 21 launched by former or reserve members of the Israeli military. Despite warnings from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, more active and former military personnel are joining the initiative. Netanyahu had previously threatened to dismiss soldiers who speak out against the war or publicly support petitions aimed at halting the conflict. While the majority of signatories are civilians – 127,255, according to the latest data – 11,179 military figures have also signed. Among the civilian signatories are 73,599 Israeli citizens, 1,500 parents of active-duty soldiers, and 1,300 relatives of soldiers killed in combat. The campaign has also attracted widespread support across society, including teachers, academics, doctors, artists, lawyers, and tech professionals. Among military reservists and retirees, paratroopers are the largest group to sign the petitions, with 2,151 signatures, followed by 1,700 former members of the Armored Corps, 1,600 from the military intelligence's Unit 8200, 791 from special forces, 612 from the artillery division, 553 from the elite Golani Brigade, and 312 from the naval commando unit Shayetet 13. Several prominent former military leaders have also signed the petitions, including former Prime Minister and Chief of General Staff Ehud Barak, former Chief of Staff Dan Halutz, former Southern Command head Amram Mitzna, former Central Command head Avi Mizrahi, and former military intelligence chief Amos Malka. On Friday, Israeli media reported that the government had begun taking disciplinary action against military doctors who had signed the petitions. The move follows Netanyahu's recent claim that the signatories are engaging in insubordination with the support of foreign-funded organizations aiming to topple his government, which has been in power since late 2022. Israel currently believes that 24 of the 59 remaining hostages in Gaza are still alive. At the same time, more than 9,500 Palestinians are imprisoned in Israeli jails, with numerous reports of torture, starvation, and medical neglect leading to the deaths of detainees. An initial ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel, brokered by Egypt and Qatar with American backing, began on Jan. 19 and was violated by Israel in mid March. More than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
Asharq Al-Awsat
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Israeli Soldiers Describe Clearance of 'Kill Zone' on Gaza's Edge
Israeli troops flattened farmland and cleared entire residential districts in Gaza to open a "kill zone" around the enclave, according to a report on Monday that quoted soldiers testifying about the harsh methods used in the operation. The report, from the Israeli rights group Breaking the Silence, cited soldiers who served in Gaza during the creation of the buffer zone, which was extended to between 800-1,500 meters inside the enclave by December 2024 and which has since been expanded further by Israeli troops. Israel says the buffer zone encircling Gaza is needed to prevent a repeat of the October 7, 2023 attack by thousands of Hamas-led fighters and gunmen who poured across the previous 300 metre-deep buffer zone to assault a string of Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip. "The borderline is a kill zone, a lower area, a lowland," the report quotes a captain in the Armored Corps as saying. "We have a commanding view of it, and they do too." The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report, Reuters reported. The testimony came from soldiers who were serving in Gaza at the end of 2023, soon after Israeli troops entered the enclave, until early 2024. It did not cover the most recent operations to greatly enlarge the ground held by the military. In the early expansion of the zone, soldiers said troops using bulldozers and heavy excavators along with thousands of mines and explosives destroyed around 3,500 buildings as well as agricultural and industrial areas that could have been vital in postwar reconstruction. Around 35% of the farmland in Gaza, much of which is around the edges of the territory, was destroyed, according to a separate report by the Israeli rights group Gisha. "Essentially, everything gets mowed down, everything," the report quoted one reserve soldier serving in the Armored Corps as saying. "Every building and every structure." Another soldier said the area looked "like Hiroshima". Breaking the Silence, a group of former Israeli soldiers that aims to raise awareness of the experience of troops serving in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, said it had spoken to soldiers who took part in the operation to create the perimeter and quoted them without giving their names. One soldier from a combat engineering unit described the sense of shock he felt when he saw the destruction already wrought by the initial bombardment of the northern area of the Gaza Strip when his unit was first sent in to begin its clearance operation. "It was surreal, even before we destroyed the houses when we went in. It was surreal, like you were in a movie," he said. "What I saw there, as far as I can judge, was beyond what I can justify as needed," he said. "It's about proportionality." 'JUST A PILE OF RUBBLE' Soldiers described digging up farmland, including olive trees and fields of eggplant and cauliflower as well as destroying industrial zones including one with a large Coca Cola plant and a pharmaceutical company. One soldier described "a huge industrial area, huge factories, and after it's just a pile of rubble, piles of broken concrete." The Israeli operation has so far killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health authorities, which do not distinguish between civilians and armed fighters. The Israeli military estimates it has killed around 20,000 fighters. The bombardment has also flattened large areas of the coastal enclave, leaving hundreds of thousands of people in bomb-damaged buildings, tents or temporary shelters. The report said that many of the buildings demolished were deemed by the military to have been used by Hamas fighters, and it quoted a soldier as saying a few contained the belongings of hostages. But many others were demolished without any such connection. Palestinians were not allowed to enter the zone and were fired on if they did, but the report quoted soldiers saying the rules of engagement were loose and heavily dependent on commanders on the spot. "Company commanders make all kinds of decisions about this, so it ultimately very much depends on who they are. But there is no system of accountability in general," the captain in the Armored Corps said. It quoted another soldier saying that in general adult males seen in the buffer zone were killed but warning shots were fired in the case of women or children. "Most of the time, the people who breach the perimeter are adult men. Children or women didn't enter this area," the soldier said.
Khaleej Times
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Khaleej Times
Israeli soldiers describe clearance of 'kill zone' on Gaza's edge
Israeli troops flattened farmland and cleared entire residential districts in Gaza to open a "kill zone" around the enclave, according to a report on Monday that quoted soldiers testifying about the harsh methods used in the operation. The report, from the Israeli rights group Breaking the Silence, cited soldiers who served in Gaza during the creation of the buffer zone, which was extended to between 800-1,500 metres inside the enclave by December 2024 and which has since been expanded further by Israeli troops. Israel says the buffer zone encircling Gaza is needed to prevent a repeat of the October 7, 2023 attack by thousands of Hamas-led fighters and gunmen who poured across the previous 300 metre-deep buffer zone to assault a string of Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip. The attack, which killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, was one of the worst security disasters in Israel's history. "The borderline is a kill zone, a lower area, a lowland," the report quotes a captain in the Armored Corps as saying. "We have a commanding view of it, and they do too." The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. The testimony came from soldiers who were serving in Gaza at the end of 2023, soon after Israeli troops entered the enclave, until early 2024. It did not cover the most recent operations to greatly enlarge the ground held by the military. In the early expansion of the zone, soldiers said troops using bulldozers and heavy excavators along with thousands of mines and explosives destroyed around 3,500 buildings as well as agricultural and industrial areas that could have been vital in postwar reconstruction. Around 35 per cent of the farmland in Gaza, much of which is around the edges of the territory, was destroyed, according to a separate report by the Israeli rights group Gisha. "Essentially, everything gets mowed down, everything," the report quoted one reserve soldier serving in the Armored Corps as saying. "Every building and every structure." Another soldier said the area looked "like Hiroshima". Breaking the Silence, a group of former Israeli soldiers that aims to raise awareness of the experience of troops serving in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, said it had spoken to soldiers who took part in the operation to create the perimeter and quoted them without giving their names. One soldier from a combat engineering unit described the sense of shock he felt when he saw the destruction already wrought by the initial bombardment of the northern area of the Gaza Strip when his unit was first sent in to begin its clearance operation. "It was surreal, even before we destroyed the houses when we went in. It was surreal, like you were in a movie," he said. "What I saw there, as far as I can judge, was beyond what I can justify as needed," he said. "It's about proportionality." 'Just a pile of rubble' Soldiers described digging up farmland, including olive trees and fields of eggplant and cauliflower as well as destroying industrial zones including one with a large Coca Cola plant and a pharmaceutical company. One soldier described "a huge industrial area, huge factories, and after it's just a pile of rubble, piles of broken concrete". The Israeli operation has so far killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health authorities, which do not distinguish between civilians and armed fighters. The Israeli military estimates it has killed around 20,000 fighters. The bombardment has also flattened large areas of the coastal enclave, leaving hundreds of thousands of people in bomb-damaged buildings, tents or temporary shelters. The report said that many of the buildings demolished were deemed by the military to have been used by Hamas fighters, and it quoted a soldier as saying a few contained the belongings of hostages. But many others were demolished without any such connection. Palestinians were not allowed to enter the zone and were fired on if they did, but the report quoted soldiers saying the rules of engagement were loose and heavily dependent on commanders on the spot. "Company commanders make all kinds of decisions about this, so it ultimately very much depends on who they are. But there is no system of accountability in general," the captain in the Armored Corps said. It quoted another soldier saying that in general adult males seen in the buffer zone were killed but warning shots were fired in the case of women or children. "Most of the time, the people who breach the perimeter are adult men. Children or women didn't enter this area," the soldier said.
Al Arabiya
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Israeli soldiers describe clearance of ‘kill zone' on Gaza's edge
Israeli troops flattened farmland and cleared entire residential districts in Gaza to open a 'kill zone' around the enclave, according to a report on Monday that quoted soldiers testifying about the harsh methods used in the operation. The report, from the Israeli rights group Breaking the Silence, cited soldiers who served in Gaza during the creation of the buffer zone, which was extended to between 800-1,500 meters inside the enclave by December 2024 and which has since been expanded further by Israeli troops. Israel says the buffer zone encircling Gaza is needed to prevent a repeat of the October 7, 2023 attack by thousands of Hamas-led fighters and gunmen who poured across the previous 300 meter-deep buffer zone to assault a string of Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip. The attack, which killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, was one of the worst security disasters in Israel's history. 'The borderline is a kill zone, a lower area, a lowland,' the report quotes a captain in the Armored Corps as saying. 'We have a commanding view of it, and they do too.' The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. The testimony came from soldiers who were serving in Gaza at the end of 2023, soon after Israeli troops entered the enclave, until early 2024. It did not cover the most recent operations to greatly enlarge the ground held by the military. In the early expansion of the zone, soldiers said troops using bulldozers and heavy excavators along with thousands of mines and explosives destroyed around 3,500 buildings as well as agricultural and industrial areas that could have been vital in postwar reconstruction. Around 35 percent of the farmland in Gaza, much of which is around the edges of the territory, was destroyed, according to a separate report by the Israeli rights group Gisha. 'Essentially, everything gets mowed down, everything,' the report quoted one reserve soldier serving in the Armored Corps as saying. 'Every building and every structure.' Another soldier said the area looked 'like Hiroshima'. Breaking the Silence, a group of former Israeli soldiers that aims to raise awareness of the experience of troops serving in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, said it had spoken to soldiers who took part in the operation to create the perimeter and quoted them without giving their names. One soldier from a combat engineering unit described the sense of shock he felt when he saw the destruction already wrought by the initial bombardment of the northern area of the Gaza Strip when his unit was first sent in to begin its clearance operation. 'It was surreal, even before we destroyed the houses when we went in. It was surreal, like you were in a movie,' he said. 'What I saw there, as far as I can judge, was beyond what I can justify as needed,' he said. 'It's about proportionality.' 'Just a pile of rubble' Soldiers described digging up farmland, including olive trees and fields of eggplant and cauliflower as well as destroying industrial zones including one with a large Coca Cola plant and a pharmaceutical company. One soldier described 'a huge industrial area, huge factories, and after it's just a pile of rubble, piles of broken concrete.' The Israeli operation has so far killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health authorities, which do not distinguish between civilians and armed fighters. The Israeli military estimates it has killed around 20,000 fighters. The bombardment has also flattened large areas of the coastal enclave, leaving hundreds of thousands of people in bomb-damaged buildings, tents or temporary shelters. The report said that many of the buildings demolished were deemed by the military to have been used by Hamas fighters, and it quoted a soldier as saying a few contained the belongings of hostages. But many others were demolished without any such connection. Palestinians were not allowed to enter the zone and were fired on if they did, but the report quoted soldiers saying the rules of engagement were loose and heavily dependent on commanders on the spot. 'Company commanders make all kinds of decisions about this, so it ultimately very much depends on who they are. But there is no system of accountability in general,' the captain in the Armored Corps said. It quoted another soldier saying that in general adult males seen in the buffer zone were killed but warning shots were fired in the case of women or children. 'Most of the time, the people who breach the perimeter are adult men. Children or women didn't enter this area,' the soldier said.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israeli soldiers describe clearance of 'kill zone' on Gaza's edge
By James Mackenzie JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli troops flattened farmland and cleared entire residential districts in Gaza to open a "kill zone" around the enclave, according to a report on Monday that quoted soldiers testifying about the harsh methods used in the operation. The report, from the Israeli rights group Breaking the Silence, cited soldiers who served in Gaza during the creation of the buffer zone, which was extended to between 800-1,500 metres inside the enclave by December 2024 and which has since been expanded further by Israeli troops. Israel says the buffer zone encircling Gaza is needed to prevent a repeat of the October 7, 2023 attack by thousands of Hamas-led fighters and gunmen who poured across the previous 300 metre-deep buffer zone to assault a string of Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip. The attack, which killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, was one of the worst security disasters in Israel's history. "The borderline is a kill zone, a lower area, a lowland," the report quotes a captain in the Armored Corps as saying. "We have a commanding view of it, and they do too." The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. The testimony came from soldiers who were serving in Gaza at the end of 2023, soon after Israeli troops entered the enclave, until early 2024. It did not cover the most recent operations to greatly enlarge the ground held by the military. In the early expansion of the zone, soldiers said troops using bulldozers and heavy excavators along with thousands of mines and explosives destroyed around 3,500 buildings as well as agricultural and industrial areas that could have been vital in postwar reconstruction. Around 35% of the farmland in Gaza, much of which is around the edges of the territory, was destroyed, according to a separate report by the Israeli rights group Gisha. "Essentially, everything gets mowed down, everything," the report quoted one reserve soldier serving in the Armored Corps as saying. "Every building and every structure." Another soldier said the area looked "like Hiroshima". Breaking the Silence, a group of former Israeli soldiers that aims to raise awareness of the experience of troops serving in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, said it had spoken to soldiers who took part in the operation to create the perimeter and quoted them without giving their names. One soldier from a combat engineering unit described the sense of shock he felt when he saw the destruction already wrought by the initial bombardment of the northern area of the Gaza Strip when his unit was first sent in to begin its clearance operation. "It was surreal, even before we destroyed the houses when we went in. It was surreal, like you were in a movie," he said. "What I saw there, as far as I can judge, was beyond what I can justify as needed," he said. "It's about proportionality." 'JUST A PILE OF RUBBLE' Soldiers described digging up farmland, including olive trees and fields of eggplant and cauliflower as well as destroying industrial zones including one with a large Coca Cola plant and a pharmaceutical company. One soldier described "a huge industrial area, huge factories, and after it's just a pile of rubble, piles of broken concrete." The Israeli operation has so far killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health authorities, which do not distinguish between civilians and armed fighters. The Israeli military estimates it has killed around 20,000 fighters. The bombardment has also flattened large areas of the coastal enclave, leaving hundreds of thousands of people in bomb-damaged buildings, tents or temporary shelters. The report said that many of the buildings demolished were deemed by the military to have been used by Hamas fighters, and it quoted a soldier as saying a few contained the belongings of hostages. But many others were demolished without any such connection. Palestinians were not allowed to enter the zone and were fired on if they did, but the report quoted soldiers saying the rules of engagement were loose and heavily dependent on commanders on the spot. "Company commanders make all kinds of decisions about this, so it ultimately very much depends on who they are. But there is no system of accountability in general," the captain in the Armored Corps said. It quoted another soldier saying that in general adult males seen in the buffer zone were killed but warning shots were fired in the case of women or children. "Most of the time, the people who breach the perimeter are adult men. Children or women didn't enter this area," the soldier said.
