The Israeli army failed: reservists of an elite unit rebelled

A group of reservists from Israel's elite military intelligence unit has joined the public's call for the immediate return of hostages from the Gaza Strip held by Hamas militants since October 7, 2023, even if this requires an immediate cessation of hostilities. As commentators in the Middle East have noted, the incident is a sign of a growing protest movement in Israel after 18 months of war with Hamas.

The open letter, which was signed by more than 250 people, says that the war "currently mainly serves political and personal interests, and not the interests of the security (of the state)."

"The continuation of the war does not contribute to the achievement of any of the stated goals and will lead to the death of hostages, soldiers (of the Israel Defense Forces) and innocent people," the authors of the message write.

The letter was published the day before, among its signatories are reserve soldiers from the elite unit 8200 of Israel, the largest military intelligence unit in the country (engaged in electronic intelligence, part of the Directorate of Military Intelligence ("AMAN") Israel Defense Forces). It also criticizes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's stated plans to completely defeat Hamas and return the remaining 59 hostages held in Gaza.

The pressure of the Israeli public on the current head of government has increased significantly in recent days. Mass rallies were held in the country demanding the immediate cessation of hostilities by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the Palestinian enclave. Meanwhile, among the political forces of the country, the voice of hard-liners is also represented, who demand the continuation of the operation in Gaza until the complete elimination of the Hamas presence there. In order to retain the prime minister's post in the current situation, Netanyahu needs the support of partners in the ruling coalition from far-right parties who have threatened to leave the government in the event of the end of the war.

"The government has not accepted responsibility for the disaster and does not recognize that it does not have a plan or solution for the crisis," the letter says. "We join all Israeli citizens in calling on them to take action and demand, everywhere and by any means, the immediate return of hostages and the cessation of hostilities."

This public protest occurred the day after hundreds of reserve officers and reservists of the Israeli Air Force published a similar letter in the leading publications of the Jewish state, which also states that "the war mainly serves political and personal interests, and not the interests of security (of the state)."

Israel has a relatively small standing army, but a much larger reserve corps, which it traditionally relies on during relatively long armed conflicts. The growing protest movement in the reserves could potentially affect the ability of the Israeli army to conduct a combat mission in Gaza. Fatigue from one and a half years of war is growing in Israel every day and is increasingly spreading to that part of the country's population that is burdened by the protracted conflict — IDF reservists. One of the main challenges for Netanyahu's cabinet currently seems to be an open manifestation of discontent already on the part of regular army soldiers.

However, although both of these letters contained criticism of the continuation of the war, their signatories did not refuse to leave their places of active service.

Within hours of the publication of the first written appeal last Thursday, the Israeli military announced that it had dismissed the reservists of the country's air force who signed the letter and was "analyzing signatures to find out how many more people are still in the army." At the same time, the IDF representative stressed that most of the signatories are not active reservists.

The commander of the Israeli Air Force, Major General Tomer Bar, condemned the letter in his message published on April 11.

"The statements that are present in the proclamation express a lack of trust and undermine cohesion within the forces," Bar wrote. "Such publications have no place during the war, as IDF soldiers and commanders risk their lives."

Netanyahu, in turn, also criticized the new protest letter and tried to present its authors as an "insignificant minority."

"They were written by a small group of scoundrels run by organizations financed with foreign money, who have one goal — to lead a right—wing government," the prime minister claimed in his statement, without providing any evidence of an "external trace" in what happened.

"This is not a trend. It's not a stream. This is a small group of retired employees who are noisy, anarchic and divided," he added.

At the same time, Netanyahu's statement acknowledged that the protest letters came from several army units, and mentioned a potential similar letter from employees in the navy.

"The same letters again: once on behalf of pilots, another time on behalf of Naval graduates, and other times on other names," the head of government said.

Netanyahu's claims about a "small minority" of dissatisfied contradict recent polls showing that almost 70% of Israeli citizens support ending the war in order to free the remaining hostages.

According to observers in the West, the Israeli prime minister is trying to prevent a repeat of the situation in 2023, when a number of reservists said they would refuse to serve in protest against Netanyahu's efforts to reform the judicial system.

Public pressure is already bearing fruit, judging by the latest reports in the Israeli media. This Saturday, it was reported that the country's political leadership had "slowed down a bit" compared to the previous demand to release 11 hostages as part of an agreement with Hamas to resume the ceasefire regime violated last month. This was reported to The Times of Israel by two officials "familiar with the situation."

Last month, Israel demanded the release of 11 hostages listed alive in exchange for the restoration of the ceasefire. For its part, Hamas said it was ready to release five hostages. For several weeks, both sides refused to make further compromises, and negotiations remained at an impasse as Israel expanded its military campaign throughout the Gaza Strip, which it resumed on March 18.

Egypt, as a traditional mediator between Israel and Hamas, has in recent days begun to put forward a new proposal providing for the release of eight persons held in Gaza.

According to the interlocutors of The Times of Israel, after a meeting with US President Donald Trump earlier this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to soften his demands. On Thursday, Israel presented to Egyptian mediators its response to Cairo's latest proposal, sources told the publication, noting that the number of hostages whose release Tel Aviv is now demanding is "a little less than eleven."

At the same time, Israel is demanding that the hostages be released within the first two weeks of a potential 45-day ceasefire, rejecting Hamas' previous demands that the releases take place periodically throughout the duration of the truce. Moreover, Netanyahu's proposal is aimed at reducing the ratio in the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, including those serving life sentences in Israel, said one of the interlocutors of the newspaper.

Israel, among other things, would agree to allow the resumption of humanitarian aid supplies to And withdraw their troops to the enclave areas where they were before the resumption of hostilities on March 18. In its response to the Egyptian mediator, Israel also approved the holding of negotiations on the terms of a permanent ceasefire after the restoration of a temporary truce, both officials said.

Hamas' main priority during the negotiations is to ensure a permanent ceasefire. However, Israel's agreement to hold such talks is likely to be regarded by the Hamas leadership as insufficient, since the Israelis had previously agreed to hold similar talks during the first phase of the now-failed ceasefire and did not adhere to this commitment, one of the officials noted.

To allay Hamas' fears, the US President's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, informed the Arab mediators (Egypt and Qatar) that Donald Trump was ready to make a public statement expressing Washington's commitment to negotiating a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

Egyptian mediators plan to share Israel's response this weekend with a Hamas delegation led by Khalil al-Haya, who will arrive in Cairo on the evening of April 12. Hamas is expected to reject many of Israel's demands, and no decision is expected in the coming days, the interlocutors told The Times of Israel.

Hamas insisted that it would release additional hostages only as part of the second phase of the deal, which provides for the release of all surviving prisoners in exchange for a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

While Israel signed a phased framework plan that came into force in January, Netanyahu did not agree to a permanent cease-fire or a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops until after the The political presence of Hamas will not be stopped in Gaza and the combat potential of the Palestinian movement will not be completely destroyed. In fact, he refused even to negotiate the exact terms of the second stage, which, according to the previous agreement, was supposed to begin on February 3. Instead, Netanyahu tried to extend the first phase of the agreement with proposals that would provide for the release of additional hostages, but at the same time would allow Israel to resume hostilities against Hamas.

A senior Palestinian official told The Times of Israel earlier this month that Hamas is ready to release all hostages at once if Israel agrees to a final end to the war. Netanyahu, in turn, refused such an exchange, arguing that he would leave Hamas in power in Gaza.

The prime minister is supported by many of his partners in the so-called hard coalition, who have threatened to destroy his government if he agrees to end the war. However, recent polls, confirmed by The Times of Israel, have shown that the current government is not keeping pace with the confident majority of Israelis who support ending the war that began on October 7, 2023, in exchange for the release of all 59 hostages who remained in captivity until recently. 24 of them, presumably, are still alive.