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600 Former Israeli Officials Issue a Plea to Trump

Hundreds of ex-security leaders ask president to help end the war in Gaza
Posted Aug 4, 2025 11:04 AM CDT
600 Israeli Ex-Officials Urge Trump to Help End Gaza War
Palestinians carry humanitarian aid packages near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution center operated by the US-backed organization, in Netzarim, central Gaza Strip, Monday, Aug. 4, 2025.   (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

In a rare public appeal, hundreds of former Israeli security officials have asked President Trump to use his sway with Benjamin Netanyahu to help end the war in Gaza.

  • "Your credibility with the vast majority of Israelis augments your ability to steer prime minister Netanyahu and his government in the right direction: end the war, return the hostages, stop the suffering," they wrote, per the Guardian.
  • Among those who signed the letter to Trump are former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo; Ami Ayalon, former chief of Shin Bet, Israel's domestic secret service agency; former Prime Minister Ehud Barak; and former Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, per the BBC. About 600 signed in all.

  • The letter insists that what began as a defensive war has shifted away from its legitimate objectives. "It is our professional judgement that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel," it states.
  • "Netanyahu is leading Israel and the hostages to doom." The group behind the letter, Commanders for Israel's Security, warn that continued military escalation risks further international isolation for Israel.
  • Trump has not responded publicly to the letter, which comes as Hamas released videos of emaciated hostages.

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