In the space of a week, a cascade of petitions from the military has suddenly demonstrated the realization by Israeli society that the Netanyahu government’s strategy in Gaza would neither bring back the hostages nor defeat Hamas.

The Israelis are beginning to become aware of the horrors experienced by the Palestinians, but they are currently having great difficulty talking about these crimes committed by some of their fellow citizens and fail to take into account the 50,000 people murdered in Gaza.

Some prominent figures, such as former chief of staff General Dan Halutz now openly describe the prime minister as the enemy of the Jewish people and call for his arrest. However, these public figures refrain from recalling that the revisionist Zionists were the allies of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler against the Jewish people. It is still too early for Israelis to analyze what they have experienced in recent years.

This movement of ideas has its roots in the criticism that Benjamin Netanyahu has maintained for years against the military establishment. It suddenly developed with the post-October 7 war in Gaza. It is therefore both a revolt against the populism of the "revisionist Zionists" and against the project of an endless war that they carry along.

• A group of 970 Israeli Air Force reservists, some of them retired, signed a petition on April 10 that sent shockwaves through Israeli society.

The signatories call for the immediate return of Israeli hostages held by Hamas through an agreement and an end to the fighting in Gaza, which they say is motivated by personal and political considerations rather than the security of the nation. They also called on the Israeli people to make the same demands, wherever they are, and in whatever way they may carry them out.

The military and government quickly reprimanded them, going as far as to reject those still serving, but very quickly, other veterans, reservists and former members of the security establishment joined the call. Among them were former Mossad chiefs and an IDF chief of staff, who described the government’s maneuvers as "stifling civilian dissent."

• The government decided that all signatories would be dismissed from the armies, but only 25 of them made amends and withdrew from the petition. A few hours later, 150 retired naval officers signed their own letter. They wrote:

"Renewing the war takes us away from the release of hostages, endangers our soldiers and harms innocent civilians. Instead of taking targeted action to advance a hostage release agreement, we are witnessing government behavior that undermines the foundations of statehood, undermines public trust, and raises serious suspicions that national security decisions are dictated by illegitimate considerations."

• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded on April 11 by saying that these writings "were written by a small group of radicals, run by foreign-funded organizations with a single goal: to overthrow the right-wing government. It’s not a wave. It’s not a movement. It’s a small, noisy, anarchist, disconnected group of retirees – most of whom haven’t served for years."

• 1,525 soldiers of the Armed Corps (armored cavalry) published a document on 14 April, on the initiative of former deputy commander of the Yiftah brigade Colonel Rami Matan. Signatories include Ehud Barak (former Prime Minister and IDF Chief of Staff), Amram Mitzna (former general and leader of the Labor Party) and Amos Malka Halutz (former head of military intelligence).

• More than 250 veterans of Unit 8200, the electronic intelligence unit, also signed a petition on April 11. They wrote: "We join the appeal of the crews to demand the urgent return of the hostages, even at the cost of the immediate end of the war. We support and associate ourselves with the grave and disturbing statement that, at this stage, the war primarily serves political and personal interests and not security interests. This petition was quickly signed by more than a thousand reservists of Unit 8200. Then, 500 entrepreneurs from the sector joined them.

• 1,500 veterans of IDF infantry units, paratroopers and special forces, including elite commandos Sayeret Matkal, Shayet 13 and Shaldag, also signed a petition on 11 April calling for an end to the war. They wrote: "We are determined to exercise our civil rights and warn against the continuation of this long-term fighting that endangers the lives of hostages, soldiers and civilians, and appears to be continuing due to political considerations."

• On April 13, 250 Mossad veterans signed a letter calling for an end to the war and the release of the hostages. Among the signatories are Danny Yatom, Efraim Halevy and Tamir Pardo (all three former directors of the agency), as well as a former deputy head of the Mossad and dozens of retired senior officials.

• On April 14, 100 alumni of the National Security College — where top military, defense and government officials continue their education before taking on key leadership roles — signed a similar letter. They believe that soldiers and civilians should not be left behind, and solidarity is the supreme moral value. But for the past year and a half, "the State of Israel has failed to make this value a reality."

• Shin Bet Veterans for Democracy, a group made up of hundreds of Shin Bet veterans who joined the protest movement against the judicial "coup," issued a statement in support of the "petitions of our brothers in arms," which they said "express the profound deterioration of public trust in the government."

• On 14 March, more than 3,000 education officials signed a petition calling for an end to the war and the return of all hostages. They present it as "a call to refuse, it is a call to save lives."

• About 200 graduates of the prestigious Talpiot program, which combines studies in mathematics and science with military service in research and technological development, signed a letter, published on April 15, calling for the return of the hostages and an end to the war, as well as their support for Air Force reservists. "The call to save civilians and soldiers in captivity is a basic moral call on the scale of values by which we were educated and according to which we have served," they wrote.

• A public letter, signed on 16 April by 200 police commissioners, commanders and officers of the Israeli police, called for the return of all hostages, even at the cost of ending the war.

• About 250 veterans and reservists of the elite naval commando unit Shayet 13, some of whom have also already signed the special forces petition, published their own open letter on April 15.

• Approximately 120 veterans, officers and reservists, identified by their first name, last name initial and last rank, signed a letter, issued on April 15, to members of the Special Operations Division of the Directorate of Military Intelligence, "We, who have served for many years in the heart of Israeli security, under governments of the right and the left, and as patriotic and law-abiding citizens, we clearly declare that the Israeli government and the man at its head pose a clear and immediate threat to Israeli security and the lives of the hostages."

• About 500 graduates of the Israeli Navy’s elite officer course, including four former Israeli Navy commanders, signed a letter calling for "an end to the war, a review of policy, and the integration of diplomatic measures to bring back hostages and the return of security to Israel."

This is the editorial from our paywalled "Voltaire, international newsletter", n°129. For more information, do not hesitate to subscribe: 500€ per year.