Hundreds of ex-Israeli security officials are appealing to US president Donald Trump in the hopes he can sway Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the hopes of ending the war in Gaza.
Some 600 retired security professionals, including former heads of Israeli intelligence agencies, have written to Trump to help end the war. "It is our professional judgement that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel," the officials said (via the BBC). "Your credibility with the vast majority of Israelis augments your ability to steer Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu and his government in the right direction: End the war, return the hostages, stop the suffering," they told Trump.
More than 60,000 people have been killed in Gaza according to the Hamas-run health ministry since Israel began its attacks in late 2023. Pressure to bring the war to a close has been mounting as the situation in occupied Gaza deteriorates.
Recently, it has been reported that starvation is spreading in Gaza, with people unable to seek aid being dropped in from relief forces, and some even being killed while seeking aid.