Nearly 140,000 Israelis have signed petitions to demand the return of captives and end the conflict, as pressure grows on Netanyahu following a week of letters from sections of the military, the intelligence agency and academics calling for the captives to be prioritised, Al Jazeera reports.

While Netanyahu threatened to dismiss soldiers who spoke out against the offensive last week, more active and former military personnel are joining the initiative.

According to the latest data from the movement, which is coordinated through the website Restored Israel, the majority of signatories, 127,255, are civilians, and 11,179 are military figures.

Several key former military leaders have also signed the petitions, including former prime minister and chief of general staff Ehud Barak, former chief of staff Dan Halutz, and former military intelligence chief Amos Malka.