Tel Aviv, MINA – Fifteen more Israeli soldiers have refused to serve in the army until a prisoner exchange deal is reached with Palestinians, according to Israeli media on Wednesday.
Walla news portal said the new soldiers joined a total of 138 soldiers, who signed a letter declaring their refusal to serve without a deal, Anadolu Agency reports.
The letter was sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, army chief Herzi Halevi and other Israeli government officials.
“The war in Gaza sentences our brothers and sisters and the hostages to death,” the letter reads.
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Israel estimates that some 101 captives are still held by the Hamas group in Gaza, some of whom are believed to have been already killed by Israeli ongoing and indiscriminate airstrikes across the tiny enclave.
Mediation efforts led by the US, Egypt and Qatar to reach a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap agreement between Israel and Hamas have failed over Netanyahu’s refusal to end the war. (T/RE1/P2)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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