War 'unnecessary', govt orders 'illegal': Israeli intelligence officers refuse to serve in Gaza

A group of Israeli military intelligence officers have said that Israel’s government is issuing “clearly illegal” orders that must not be obeyed and announced  they will no longer participate in combat operations in Gaza.

According to The Guardian report, in a letter to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Israel Katz and the head of the military, the group of 41 officers and reservists said the government was waging an “unnecessary, eternal war” in Gaza.

The letter, posted online late Tuesday, declared that the group would not participate in a “war designed to preserve the rule of Netanyahu” or to appease “anti-democratic and messianic elements in (his) government,” added the report.

Though the signatories are unnamed, they identify themselves as members of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intelligence directorate, a unit central to the 20-month Gaza offensive, particularly in selecting bombing targets.

“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,” The Guardian quoted the group as writing.

The intelligence officers accused Netanyahu’s government of delivering a “death sentence” to Israeli hostages in Gaza by collapsing the ceasefire deal in March.

The group, believed to include members of the elite Unit 8200, claimed that “many hostages have already been killed by IDF bombings” and said the government continues to “abandon their lives.”

The letter, organised by the anti-war group Soldiers for the Hostages, reflects growing dissent within parts of the military and a reported rise in soldiers refusing to serve.

“The hope is that as many people as possible will challenge the legitimacy of this operation and of this government,” one of the intelligence officers who signed the letter  told the Guardian.

“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 officers added.

According to Gaza’s health authorities, Israel’s offensive has killed at least 55,000 people and wounded around 125,000, though the actual toll may be higher. The figures do not distinguish between civilians and militants.

Fifty-six hostages remain in Gaza after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks that killed 1,200 people in southern Israel. Israeli officials believe at least 20 hostages are still alive.

The intelligence officers’ letter adds to mounting dissent within the Israeli military. In April, 250 Unit 8200 reservists and alumni urged an end to the war, though they stopped short of urging refusal to serve.

The new statement urges all Israelis to oppose the war, some publicly refusing to serve, others doing so quietly. One officer who recently refused said they could no longer be part of a military that “didn’t think twice” about civilian casualties.

“I felt it was immoral and insanely excessive,” he said. “They were willing to do everything to achieve a goal that wasn’t even real… if there is one, it’s to try to get rid of Gaza’s population by any means.”

With inputs from agencies