54% of Israelis support continuation of humanitarian pause, hostage swap deal

By Abdul Raouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – A latest public opinion poll showed that 54% of Israelis support the continuation of the humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip and the hostages swap deal between Israel and Hamas.

The poll was conducted before the end of the humanitarian pause on Friday morning and the resumption of Israel's war on Gaza.

The poll was conducted by Israel's academic Lazar Institute and included a random sample of 603 Israelis. The maximum margin of error was 3.7%.

The Hebrew newspaper Maariv published the results later on Friday.

"Most Israeli citizens support the continuation of the pause in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the daily release of ‘kidnapped’ Hamas captives,” the newspaper said.

The poll showed that 54% of respondents support continuing the pause and postponing the process of overthrowing Hamas, while only 25% oppose it.

Twenty-one percent of participants said they did not have a specific answer.

Israel early Friday resumed its military operations against the Gaza Strip after the end of the humanitarian pause, targeting various areas in the north, center, and south of the strip, resulting in dozens of deaths and injuries, according to the ministry in Gaza.

At least 32 Palestinians were killed and many others injured as Israel resumed striking areas in the Gaza Strip within hours of the end of the pause, the ministry said.

The pause between Israel and Hamas, which went into effect on Nov. 24, ended on Friday morning.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi