Israeli Air Force pilots write letter to end the war
Around 1,200 current and former Air Force pilots have signed this letter, including Retired Israeli Air Force pilot Guy Poran.
'We air force people demand the return of the hostages home without delay, even at the price of stopping the war immediately,' Mr Poran said.
'At this time, the war serves primarily political and personal interests and not security ones.
Their campaign is growing, with other parts of the Israeli military starting their own open letter campaigns.
The Israeli government insists the war must go on to destroy Hamas.

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Sky News AU
23 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Trump pressures Israel to make a decision on next steps in Gaza
US President Donald Trump says Israel needs to make a decision soon on their next steps in Gaza. Speaking at a meeting with the European Commission President, the American leader says he is still trying to get the hostages home but that Hamas will not make a deal. Mr Trump claims the militant group won't make a deal because they know it will have no bargaining chips once they are released.

ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Penny Wong says there are 'challenges' to overcome before Palestinian recognition can happen
Hamas and hostages are two of the key barriers to Australia recognising a Palestinian state, according to Foreign Minister Penny Wong. The Albanese government is now publicly weighing up the best time to take a long-discussed step in recognising a Palestinian state, which it says could help further a peace process. French President Emmanuel Macron's move to announce France's intention to recognise Palestine in September, and his hope that other countries would follow suit, has sparked renewed conversations about the issue in a number of like-minded countries. Anthony Albanese confirmed yesterday that Australia would not follow the French lead and take similar steps imminently. Last year Penny Wong made a public shift in thinking on recognition, arguing it could come as "part of a peace process", not only at the "end of a peace process". But speaking with the ABC, Ms Wong said there were still hurdles that needed to be overcome. "[The prime minister] made the point — there are challenges associated with this," she said. "We have to see Hamas demilitarised. We have to see the hostages released. "We need to see progress in terms of the Palestinian Authority and its moves to a more democratic and accountable governance, and it's pleasing to see some of that happening." She said the ultimate purpose of recognition had not changed. "Ultimately what we want to see is two states," she said. "Because that is the only way in which we will see peace, stability and security for both Israelis and Palestinians." Yesterday the prime minister said it was his view that Israel was "quite clearly" breaching international law in Gaza, particularly through blocking aid deliveries. But the foreign minister stopped short of indicating Australia was willing to take further steps to ensure those laws were adhered to. In recent days, Israel has commenced some aid drops into Gaza, said it would open "humanitarian corridors" to allow UN aid to enter the strip, and scheduled pauses in fighting in some heavily populated areas. The moves were seen by some as due to growing international pressure over starvation across the territory. Last week, the foreign minister signed a joint letter, alongside 27 other countries, criticising the "inhumane killing" of Palestinians and condemning the "drip feeding of aid". Asked what more Australia might do, Ms Wong pointed to the steps already being taken. "We are not the central player in the Middle East, but we can continue to do what we have done, which is to work with others to collectively assert to Israel the importance of international law," she said. Asked if the government was coordinating with other like-minded countries on recognition, so as to move as one, Ms Wong said there was regular dialogue. "Obviously there's been a lot of engagement between the UK and US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand," she said. "These countries have worked together very closely, if you look at the statements that our leaders and foreign ministers have made over the months of this conflict, and we will continue to do that." Labor's rank and file, and some high-profile former MP's, are building pressure on the party to move faster on recognition. Labor's official party platform, which is non-binding on the parliamentary party, calls for recognition to be "an important priority". Former foreign minister Bob Carr said Australia should not be waiting for others to move before taking its own steps. "Australia's a middle power and our influence is indirect. We build our influence on this issue by working with like-minded [countries]," he said. "We shouldn't be giving the impression that we're waiting till Downing St decides to move before we will. "The opinion of Indonesia is more important to us than the opinion of the United Kingdom." The party is also facing pressure from its base, with Labor branches passing coordinated motions for stronger action on the conflict. Peter Moss from the group Labor Friends of Palestine said 81 Labor branches across the country had in recent weeks passed a motion calling for sanctions against Israel, including branches he believed represented "middle Australia". "Seven branches on the New South Wales Central Coast, another handful in Toowoomba," he said. "People we've never heard of contacting us from all over Australia saying, 'Can we get your motion? We want to pass this.' "And they do." But some in the Australian Jewish community are backing a cautious approach from the government. Alex Ryvchin, the co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said "symbolic" recognition would not be worthwhile. "Those who are truly concerned about human rights, about Palestinian statehood and sovereignty should be calling for the establishment of democratic institutions," he said. "For the hard work of actually building the state from the ground rather than symbolic declarations which achieve nothing."

Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
The moral test for Labor has shifted on Gaza: Words are not enough
Just two months ago, the UN warned: 'Every single one of the 2.1 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip face the risk of famine. One in five faces starvation.' And we know many have been shot by Israeli soldiers while trying to get food. On the weekend, Israel announced it would take steps to restore aid. Sadly, by this stage it is difficult to know with what level of credulity to treat its government's assertions. Israel has long blamed Hamas for looting aid; on Sunday, The New York Times carried a report based on conversations with Israeli military officials: 'the Israeli military never found proof that the Palestinian militant group had systematically stolen aid from the United Nations … In fact, the Israeli military officials said, the UN aid delivery system, which Israel derided and undermined, was largely effective in providing food to Gaza's desperate and hungry population.' This backed reports of a recent American analysis with similar findings. The starvation of the people of Gaza, then, is not an accident; it is not a tragic byproduct of other actions. As de Waal wrote years ago, 'starve' should not be seen as a passive verb. It is something someone does to someone else. And, it follows, something that others permit to be done. Almost a year ago, one Israeli minister, Bezalel Smotrich, said: 'No one will allow us to starve 2 million people, even though that might be just and moral until they return the hostages.' He was wrong. Loading Wong's early call for restraint in Gaza tells us several things. It shows it was possible, at the very beginning, to glimpse some of what was coming. At the same time, Wong's early defensiveness shows how easily participants in public debate – including leading politicians – are able to be knocked off course by efforts to make certain statements unsayable. The conservative press is significant in these efforts; but the rest of the political class, politicians and media, are the ones who allow themselves to be cowed. Israel has achieved as much as it ever will from this war. In the doing, thousands more Palestinians have been killed. Together, these two facts mean that more things are now able to be said. But the moral and practical test for those with influence has shifted. Loading Of course, it's true that Australia can't by itself end the fighting. And it is hard to know what will make Netanyahu listen – or make America behave differently. And it is true, too, that statements can have some effect. The last time famine threatened in Gaza, international pressure led to an increase in aid. Obviously, though, this was only temporary. And that is why it is important to recognise that other options are available to Australia. The UK has now announced it is working with Jordan to deliver aid and will medically evacuate children. France has said it will recognise Palestine as a state, something former Labor ministers Gareth Evans, Bob Carr and Ed Husic are calling for here. On Sunday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made clear that Israel has breached international law. This was a welcome injection of clarity. Still, the test at this late stage is no longer whether politicians can issue damning statements. The only meaningful test left is whether our leaders will do everything they can to stop Netanyahu's Israel from killing any more Palestinians.