A poll conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) shows that 56 percent of Israeli respondents believe that continuing the offensive in the Gaza Strip is the best way to rescue the hostages still held by Hamas.
According to 24 percent of the survey participants, a new deal with Hamas would be a better solution exchange of hostages. A temporary truce began on November 24. The deal included the release of at least 50 Israeli and foreign hostages — women and children — in exchange for a four-day ceasefire. Hamas released more than 100 hostages, most of them Israeli, in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinians from Israeli prisons. In early December, Israel resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The end of Prime Minister Netanyahu's rule?
According to the IDI survey, 69 percent of respondents in Israel believe that parliamentary elections should be held immediately after the end of the war. At the same time, only 15 percent of respondents want the current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to remain the head of the Israeli government after the war. Twenty-three percent of respondents want Benny Gantz, a former defense minister and now a member of the war cabinet and one of the leaders of the opposition, to become Israel's prime minister. 30 percent of Israelis could not decide who should lead the government.
The survey was conducted on December 25-28, 2023 among 746 residents of Israel.
Israeli operation against Hamas
It started on October 27 A ground invasion of Israel in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. The primary goal is to eliminate Hamas and remove the threat in this direction forever. The operation was preceded by massive bombings and calls for the evacuation of Palestinians to the south. Some Palestinians were unable and others did not want to evacuate, increasing the number of victims of Israeli attacks.
Tensions in the Middle East rose again on October 7, when militants from the radical Palestinian movement Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas said it was a reaction to the Israeli government's aggressive actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City. In response, Israel announced a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched rocket attacks on Gaza as well as some areas of Lebanon and Syria.
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