Nearly 1,000 Israeli retired and reservist fighter pilots have called in an open letter for the government to prioritise freeing remaining hostages held in Gaza, even if that meant halting the military campaign, Reuters reports.

An Israeli military official said signatories who are on active duty would be dismissed over the letter, which said the offensive “mainly serves personal and political interests, rather than genuine security needs”.

The letter, published by several Israeli media outlets, was signed by 980 reservists, most of them retired with around 10 percent on active reserve duty, one signatory told Reuters.

The letter demanded “the immediate return of all our hostages without delay, even at the cost of stopping the war immediately”.