Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday harshly criticized former and present members of the military calling for the release of hostages held in Gaza even at the cost of ending the war, saying the letters circulated in support of such a deal were not representative of Israeli soldiers.
“These letters were written not in the name of our heroic soldiers,” Netanyahu wrote in a message posted on his official government account on X, formerly Twitter. “They were written by a small handful of fringe elements—loud, anarchist and disconnected pensioners, most of whom haven’t served in years. This is not a movement. It’s not a groundswell. It’s a noisy minority backed by foreign-funded NGOs whose only goal is to bring down the right-wing government.”
Netanyahu warned that those who promote refusal to serve “weaken Israel and the IDF” and “encourage our enemies.” He vowed to remove anyone who incites military insubordination. “Refusal is refusal—no matter what euphemism is used,” he said.
The prime minister's harsh remarks came after hundreds of reservists from the IDF Military Intelligence’s elite Unit 8200 have joined a growing wave of public dissent, backing Israeli Air Force veterans who called for an immediate hostage release deal even at the cost of halting the war in Gaza. In a letter published Friday, the reservists warned that continuing the war serves "mainly political and personal interests, not security ones," and could further endanger the hostages, Israeli soldiers and innocent civilians.
The letter echoed a similar call earlier this week from dozens of Air Force veterans. “We support the urgent demand to bring the hostages home without delay, even at the price of changing the course of the war,” the 8200 signatories wrote, expressing concern about rising burnout in the reserves and the lack of a clear government strategy.
“Only a deal can bring the hostages home safely,” they stated, urging fellow Israelis to demand an immediate ceasefire. The letter ended with the same appeal made by the pilots: “Stop the fighting and bring back the hostages—now. Every day endangers their lives. Every moment of hesitation is a disgrace.”
In parallel to the reservist protests, more than 1,840 university faculty members signed a petition supporting the pilots’ call, also urging a ceasefire to secure the hostages' release. The signatories included former university presidents, such as Prof. Avishay Braverman (Ben-Gurion University), Prof. Yossi Klafter (Tel Aviv University) and Prof. Yehuda Danon (Ariel University).
Another 1,300 educators signed a separate letter with the same demand. Critics of the campaign, including the pro-government group Reservists for Victory, accused the signatories of encouraging refusal and undermining national unity. “It’s amazing how some people want to drag us back to October 6,” the group said in a statement, calling for harsh punishment for anyone who promotes division in Israeli society and the army.
