More than 600 retired Israeli security and intelligence officials—including former chiefs of the Mossad spy agency, the Shin Bet domestic security service and three past military chiefs of staff—have written to U.S. President Donald Trump urging him to press Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt Israel’s nearly two-year-old war in Gaza. The signatories say Hamas “no longer poses a strategic threat” and warn that continued fighting is eroding Israel’s security and identity. The appeal argues that freeing the remaining hostages held by Hamas now requires a negotiated deal rather than further military action. The letter surfaced as Netanyahu signalled a move in the opposite direction. After indirect cease-fire talks with Hamas collapsed, the prime minister said he will convene his security cabinet this week to issue fresh military instructions. Israeli broadcasters Channel 12 and N12, citing a senior official in Netanyahu’s office, reported that a decision has been taken to expand the offensive and occupy the entire Gaza Strip; the same sources said the Israel Defense Forces’ chief of staff could resign if ordered to implement the plan. Reuters separately confirmed that “more force” is among the options to be discussed. The prospect of full occupation has drawn resistance inside Israel’s security establishment, which argues that such a step could imperil roughly 49 hostages still held in Gaza and entangle the army in a prolonged insurgency. According to Gaza’s health ministry, Israeli operations have killed more than 60,000 Palestinians since October 2023; Israel’s official tally puts its own death toll from the initial Hamas attack at 1,219. Public protests and the unprecedented intervention by former security chiefs underscore mounting domestic and international pressure on Netanyahu as the war approaches its third year.