A range of former Israeli intelligence chiefs have called for an end to the war on Gaza.
In a video carried by Israeli media outlets on Sunday, former heads of Mossad, Shin Bet, police and military intelligence all urged an end to what is now Israel’s longest war since its foundation.
They also announced they had sent a letter, signed by 550 former security officials, to US President Donald Trump requesting that he pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the issue.
“Stop the Gaza War! On behalf of [Commanders for Israel’s Security], Israel’s largest group of former IDF (Israeli army) generals and Mossad, Shin Bet, Police, and Diplomatic Corps equivalents, we urge you to end the Gaza war,” it read.
“You did it in Lebanon. Time to do it in Gaza as well.”
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on
Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
Signatories include five former heads of Shin Bet – Ami Ayalon, Nadav Argaman, Yoram Cohen, Yaakov Peri and Carmi Gillon – and three former military chiefs of staff, including former prime minister Ehud Barak, as well as former defence minister Moshe Yaalon.
The letter cited the plight of the Israeli captives in Gaza, which along with the Palestinians are suffering the effects of an imposed Israeli aid blockade, as a primary reason to end the fighting.
רמטכ”לים, מפכ”לים, ראשי שב”כ, המוסד ואמ”ן, בקריאה משותפת להפסקת המלחמה: “הפסיקה להיות מלחמה צודקת ומביאה את מדינת ישראל לאובדן זהותה”@yanircozin pic.twitter.com/8XlIVuKvqY
— גלצ (@GLZRadio) August 3, 2025
“It is our professional judgment that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel, and our experience tells us that Israel has all it takes to deal with its residual terror capabilities, remotely or otherwise,” they said.
“Chasing remaining senior Hamas operatives can be done later. Our hostages can’t wait.”
Around 50 captives taken during Hamas’ October 2023 incursion into southern Israel are thought to still be held in Gaza, including 30 believed to be dead.
Most of the 251 taken in the attack were released during two short-lived truces.
The Gaza-based Government Media Office said on Monday that just 80 aid trucks entered the territory on Sunday, far below the 600 trucks needed each day to meet minimum humanitarian needs.
In a statement shared via Telegram, the office said most of the limited aid was looted amid ongoing security chaos, which it blamed on the Israeli occupation.
“The actual daily needs of the Gaza Strip are no less than 600 trucks of relief and fuel to meet the minimum requirements of life in the Strip,” it said.
The office denounced what it described as “systematic starvation”, the continued closure of border crossings, and the deliberate obstruction of humanitarian aid.
It held Israel and its international backers fully responsible for the deepening crisis, which it said affects more than 2.4 million Palestinians.
At least 180 people, including 93 children, have died from malnutrition in the Gaza Strip since October 2023 due to Israeli starvation policy.
Overall, Israeli forces have killed more than 60,000 Palestinians in Gaza since the war started, including more than 18,000 children.
