73% of Israelis support ceasefire, prisoner exchange deal with Hamas: Poll

JERUSALEM

A recent poll published on Saturday revealed that 73% of Israelis support the prisoner exchange and ceasefire agreement with the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza, brokered through international mediation.

The survey, conducted by the Israeli daily Maariv in partnership with the Lazar Research Center, was carried out on Jan. 15-16, showed overwhelming support for the deal among the Israeli public.

The survey found that 45% strongly support the agreement, while 28% somewhat support it, bringing the total approval to 73%. Only 19% of Israelis oppose the deal and 8% remain neutral on the matter.

The survey also indicated that 91% of opposition voters in Israel back the agreement, while 52% of voters from the ruling right-wing coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also support it despite 37% opposing the deal.

The Israeli government officially approved the agreement early on Saturday morning, following nearly eight hours of deliberations.

The approval came with 24 ministers voting in favor and eight ministers opposing.

Qatar announced a three-phase ceasefire agreement on Wednesday to end more than 15 months of deadly Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip with the ceasefire set to take effect on Sunday at 0630GMT.

Nearly 46,900 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed and more than 110,600 injured in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, according to local health authorities.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November 2024 for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi.