Israelis want to continue war in Gaza until Hamas eliminated – poll

Fully 83% of the public thinks the fighting should continue until nothing is left of the terror organization and all the hostages are returned.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

The vast majority of Israelis still want to keep the war going until the Hamas terrorist is completely destroyed, a poll commissioned by Channel 14 showed Sunday.

Fully 83% of the public thinks the fighting should continue until nothing is left of the terror organization and all the hostages are returned.

Hamas and other terrorists invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, massacring 1,200 including infants and the elderly, and taking 253 people hostage, among them the bodies of those they murdered.

Although 134 hostages remain in Gaza, the Israeli government believes that only 60-70 are still alive. Recent negotiations for the release of 40 female, sick, elderly and child abductees have failed due to “delusional” Hamas demands that include the total withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza.

The definitive support for the war came despite the drop in confidence reflected in the answer to whether Israel can win it. A significantly lesser majority of 70% answered positively, while fully 27% responded in the negative.

The poll also found that a large plurality (49%) of the public thinks that the most important lesson that the country must learn from the war is that a change of the overall perception regarding the security of the country is necessary.

While not further defined in the survey, it is commonly accepted that the entrenched perception that Hamas was deterred into keeping the border quiet by Israel’s military might and the practical need to keep afloat economically by having a large number of Gazans work in Israel was one of the major reasons for the success of the Hamas attack.

Warnings from field observers and intelligence operatives about Hamas preparations were ignored and even ridiculed by senior army staff.

Border communities’ civilian response teams were also denuded over time of many weapons and proper defensive equipment.

The requirement for a basic change in security thinking far outweighed the other popular lessons: the need for unity among the people (27%) and that Israel must rely on a local arms-producing industry so as to reduce its dependence on other countries (19%).

Another 5% said that the most important conclusion to be made after six months of war is the need to support the reservists more. Over 300,000 were called up in October to bolster the standing army and many took large financial hits, for example, while willingly serving for months at a time.

When asked who was most responsible for the October 7 debacle, 42% equally blamed the political, military and intelligence echelons, 40% held the military/intelligence sector solely accountable and 17% pointed their fingers only at the politicians.