Nearly 60% of Israelis support return to fighting Hamas in Gaza

By JNS Staff

(JNS) — Nearly three in five Israelis back the resumption of fighting in the Gaza Strip in the wake of Hamas’s rejection of a U.S. proposal to extend the ceasefire in exchange for the release of more hostages.

According to a survey carried out by Israel’s Direct Polls Institute and published by Channel 14 on Monday night—before the Israel Defense Forces launched a campaign of extensive airstrikes in Gaza—59 percent of Israelis support the resumption of hostilities.

Some 38 percent said they opposed it, while 3 percent of respondents did not express a position.

Direct Polls, which...