Over 50% of Israelis prefer hostage swap to Rafah invasion: Poll

By Anadolu staff

JERUSALEM (AA) - More than half of Israelis prefer a cease-fire agreement with Hamas, including a hostage swap, to a military operation in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, a poll showed on Friday.

The poll was conducted by the private Lazar Institute for Studies on a random sample of 500 Israelis, and was published by the Israeli daily Maariv.

It showed that “54% of the surveyed Israelis prefer reaching a hostage deal over carrying out a military operation in Rafah.”

The poll also noted that “79% of voters for right-wing parties support the operation in Rafah, compared to 81% of voters for left-wing and centrist parties who prefer a hostage swap deal.”

It indicated that “38% prefer the military operation over reaching a deal, while 8% have no specific opinion on the matter.”

Reports have emerged of a cease-fire proposal being discussed by Israel and Palestinian resistance group Hamas to end the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has vowed to invade Rafah, home to more than 1.4 million displaced Palestinians, with or without a deal with Hamas.

Hamas, which is believed to be holding more than 130 Israeli hostages, demands an end to Israel’s deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip in return for any hostage deal with Tel Aviv.​​​​​​​

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala