Ex-Mossad officials urge end to fighting

Hundreds of former officials of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency and military doctors have signed petitions demanding the Israeli government end fighting in Gaza and secure the release of hostages amid mounting domestic frustration in recent weeks in Israel.

On Sunday, more than 250 former officials of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency have signed a petition calling for an end to the conflict. On the same day, about 200 Israeli military doctors signed a petition with the same demand.

The petitions add to a wave of growing discontent in Israeli society, challenging the intentions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government in prolonging the 18-month conflict.

The recent weeks have seen hospitals, schools, and critical civilian infrastructure targeted.

According to Israel's Kan TV News, signatories from the Mossad included former chiefs Danny Yatom, Efraim Halevy, and Tamir Pardo, alongside other veteran officials in the service.

The former intelligence officials said continued fighting "endangers the lives of the hostages and our soldiers, and every possibility must be exhausted to reach an agreement that will end the suffering".

Omer Behram Ozdemir, a lecturer in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Ibn Haldun University in Turkiye, told China Daily that the fact that members from Mossad and the Israeli Air Force have taken a stand against the Netanyahu government's policy of continuing the conflict in Gaza showed there are differences of opinion in Israeli domestic politics.

"It is important to know that the criticisms that Netanyahu is using this war to continue his own power are also being echoed by Mossad and the army," said Ozdemir.

"Because the authoritarian criticisms directed at Netanyahu were among the main agenda items of Israeli domestic politics before the Oct 7 (2023) attack, we see that the internal dynamics of Israel do not think in a monolithic way regarding the war," he added.

The petitions came as a predawn Israeli strike on Al-Ahli Arab Hospital killed 37 people. The Israel Defense Forces said on X that it mitigated harm to civilians or to the hospital compound, "including issuing advanced warnings in the area of the terror infrastructure".

Amid the ceasefire deadlock, a senior Hamas official said on Monday that the group is prepared to release all Israeli hostages in exchange for a "serious prisoner swap" and guarantees that Israel will end the conflict in Gaza.

Hamas left Cairo on Monday after negotiations with mediators from Egypt and Qatar.

"We are ready to release all Israeli captives in exchange for a serious prisoner swap deal, an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the entry of humanitarian aid," Taher al-Nunu, a senior Hamas official, told AFP.

Israeli news website Ynet reported on Monday that a new proposal had been put to Hamas.

Agencies contributed to this story.