Poll says 56% of Israelis support ending Gaza war with ceasefire and hostage release deal

A slight majority of Israelis supports ending the war in Gaza as part of a cease-fire deal that would free all hostages held by Hamas, according to a poll released Wednesday.

The poll by the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem think-tank, found that 56% of Israelis favor a complete cease-fire to return all the hostages and Israel’s full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. That figure stands in contrast to a key position of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in ongoing cease-fire talks – that Israel won’t commit to ending the war as part of any deal.

The poll also found that nearly 30% of Israelis support a temporary cease-fire that will return some of the hostages.

The survey of 850 Israelis had a margin of error of 3.85%.

Israel and Hamas are engaged in some of the most serious talks in months to try to strike a deal that would halt the war and release some of the roughly 120 hostages still held by the militant group. A main sticking point has been Hamas’ demand that Israel commit to ending the war as part of any deal, a term Netanyahu has rejected.

Netanyahu says that military pressure is the best way to prompt Hamas to free the hostages, about a third of whom are said to be dead. He has faced pressure from his far-right governing partners not to move ahead on a deal, saying doing so would keep Hamas intact and put Israel at risk of more attacks like the one on Oct. 7.

Netanyahu's political partners have threatened to quit the government if a deal moves ahead. That would topple the coalition and could trigger new elections, threatening Netanyahu’s hold on power.