600 Former Israeli Officials Issue a Plea to Trump

In a rare public appeal, hundreds of former Israeli security officials have asked President Trump to use his sway with Benjamin Netanyahu to help end the war in Gaza.

• "Your credibility with the vast majority of Israelis augments your ability to steer prime minister Netanyahu and his government in the right direction: end the war, return the hostages, stop the suffering," they wrote, per the Guardian.
• Among those who signed the letter to Trump are former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo; Ami Ayalon, former chief of Shin Bet, Israel's domestic secret service agency; former Prime Minister Ehud Barak; and former Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, per the BBC. About 600 signed in all.

• The letter insists that what began as a defensive war has shifted away from its legitimate objectives. "It is our professional judgement that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel," it states.
• "Netanyahu is leading Israel and the hostages to doom." The group behind the letter, Commanders for Israel's Security, warn that continued military escalation risks further international isolation for Israel.
• Trump has not responded publicly to the letter, which comes as Hamas released videos of emaciated hostages.