​​​​​​​JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL

Former Israeli Air Force Chief Nimrod Sheffer announced Saturday that he was dismissed due to his signing a petition that urged an end to the war to secure the return of hostages from the Gaza Strip, said media reports.

Israel's Channel 12 quoted reserve Maj. Gen. Nimrod Sheffer who said: “I was dismissed from the reserves because of the petition.”

The petition, sent by Israeli Air Force reserve and retired officers to the government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is the first to demand the return of hostages even if it means halting the war in Gaza.

The number of Israelis who signed petitions demanding the return of captives from Gaza even at the cost of halting the war climbed to nearly 140,000 as of Saturday, according to the campaign, which is gaining momentum across Israel.

The movement, coordinated through the Restored Israel website, reflects growing frustration with the government's military strategy and its failure to secure the release of captives.

In the past 24 hours, more than 10,000 new signatories joined the campaign. As of early Saturday, the number of signatures had reached 138,434, up from 128,114 on Friday. The number is expected to continue rising.

On Friday, Israeli media reported that the government began taking disciplinary action against military doctors who signed the petitions.

The move follows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent claim that the signatories are engaging in insubordination with the support of foreign-funded organizations aiming to topple his government, which has been in power since late 2022.

Israel believes 24 of the 59 remaining hostages in Gaza are alive. At the same time, more than 9,500 Palestinians are imprisoned in Israeli jails, with numerous reports of torture, starvation, and medical neglect leading to the deaths of detainees.

An initial ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel, brokered by Egypt and Qatar, with American backing, began Jan. 19, but was violated by Israel in early March.

More than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.​​​​​​​

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.