Two-thirds of Israelis want Gaza ceasefire agreement: Poll

Sixty-seven percent of Israelis are in favour of an exchange of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli captives of Hamas that would bring about a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, according to a Lazar Institute poll published by Israeli daily Maariv.

About 22 percent of respondents said they were opposed to making a deal in exchange for a ceasefire while 11 percent of respondents said they were unsure.

The poll, done on a random sample of 502 Israelis with an estimated error rate of 4.3 percent, also said that 73 percent of Israeli agree to a ceasefire only after a deal has been reached, and only 11 percent agree to a ceasefire while negotiating.

The poll also showed that 67 percent of Israelis support Israel “continuing with the current ceasefire framework in exchange for the daily release of hostages”, while 22 percent are in opposition.

It comes amid growing international pressure on Israel to pause its assault on Gaza and to allow more humanitarian aid into the besieged territory.

At least 20,000 people have been killed in the besieged Gaza Strip since Israel began bombarding the enclave more than 10 weeks ago, according to Palestinian officials. At least 8,000 children and 6,200 women are among those killed, Gaza’s Government Media Office reported on Wednesday.

The war has flattened large parts of northern Gaza and driven most of the population to the southern part of the besieged territory, where many are in crowded shelters and tent camps. Some 1.9 million Palestinians – about 90 percent of Gaza’s population – have fled their homes.

France, the United Kingdom and Germany on Sunday added their voices to calls for a ceasefire, while US President Joe Biden last week called the bombing “indiscriminate”.

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