On October 9, more than 130 Israeli reserve soldiers signed an open letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yav Galant. In the letter, they refused to go to war again in Gaza and Lebanon. He also refused to provide all services until an agreement was reached to end the fighting and return 101 prisoners held in Gaza. American media CNN has published a special report on this.
The letter read, 'Some of us have long passed the limit of tolerance. For others it is gradually becoming miserable. A broken heart is broken. The day is fast approaching when we will cease to provide any kind of service.'
One of these Israeli reserve soldiers is Yotam Wilk. When Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel on October 7 last year, reservist Yotam Wilk was not called up for military duty – he volunteered to fight. He has since spent more than 230 days with the Israeli army in Gaza.
He gave a telephone interview to CNN. In the interview, he said, that October 7, I did not hesitate… because my people were killed. I understood the need to protect them.
But after completing reserve duty in Gaza this summer, he is refusing to rejoin the army.
He believes that military action is justified in some cases, but should only be used to advance a diplomatic solution. But Vilk doesn't think his government is interested in achieving any such goal.
The devastation in Gaza is intensifying, he said. The lives of Palestinians and the lives of Israeli prisoners are becoming more difficult.
Because Wilk fears he is taking part in a war that could lead to another Israeli occupation of Gaza that he wants no part of.
Netanyahu, however, said there would be no resettlement in Gaza. Wilk said the government's support for settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank made him suspicious of Netanyahu's intentions. Netanyahu's cabinet includes hard-right ministers who have called for Israeli settlements in Gaza.
They put me in a terrible situation… I feel cheated by my own government,” Wilk said.
But he is not alone. Another reservist, Max Kresch, fought on Israel's Lebanese border for 66 days after October 7. He also signed the letter.
Kresh says he doesn't want to be in this war anymore. When he returned to his home in Jerusalem at the end of December, he fell into a deep depression. Now he is going through a tough time mentally.
He said, “Most of the people I was fighting with were motivated by religious motivation. And Kresh commented that this issue is uncomfortable for himself.
“One soldier told him he believed it was the duty of religious Jews to kill Palestinians, even children, in Gaza,” he said. Because those children will grow up to be terrorists!'
Noting that Israel's hard-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gavir has expressed similar views, Kresh added that it was difficult for him to listen to and tolerate such extremist views of some colleagues.
Another 28-year-old reservist, who did not want to be named, said, “We have passed a year and we still don't have a hostage agreement. But he said, making a deal doesn't mean I'm ready to go back to the battlefield after the deal.
He expressed fear that this war is going to be an eternal war. And he has started to believe that this war is for Netanyahu's political gain.
But this is not the first case of Israeli reserve troops refusing to fight. Such a letter was signed by 40 reserve soldiers during the attack on the southern Gaza city of Rafah last May. But this time this number has increased to more than double. However, Israel's Transport Minister Miri Regev called for the arrest of those who signed such letters.
