Israeli citizens said on Wednesday that in spite of the call for a ceasefire by the UN General Assembly, the growing list of troop casualties, and the rising number of Palestinian deaths in Gaza, the army should not abandon its relentless offensive to destroy Hamas.
Tuesday was one of the deadliest days for Israel’s armed forces in the two-month-old Gaza conflict. Ten soldiers, including a colonel, lost their lives, bringing the total to 115, nearly twice as many as those lost during fighting in the coastal enclave nine years prior.
Also, US President Joe Biden claimed that Israel was losing international support due to the “indiscriminate” bombing of Gazan civilians, with a large portion of the enclave destroyed, terrible living conditions, and over 18,500 Palestinians slain in the Israeli army’s air and ground assault.
Despite the growing human cost of the war, polls conducted in recent weeks reveal strong support for it. In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, six Israelis stated that, despite waning international support evident in the United Nations resolution on Tuesday, this was not the moment to back down.
The killing of 1,200 people by Hamas on October 7, primarily civilians, rekindled fears in Israel that its enemies and neighbours could completely destroy the Jewish people, a feeling that was first sparked by an Arab surprise attack in 1973, according to political scientist Tamar Hermann.
“The sense of the people is that this is a threat to the very existence of Israel,” stated Hermann from the Israel Democracy Institute. According to her, people were ready for more military casualties.
Retiree Ben Zion Levinger stated in a speech in Jerusalem that any lull in Israel’s war against Hamas would be interpreted by the enemy as a sign of weakness. “If we don’t take this fight to the end, then tomorrow morning we’ll have battles in the north and in the east and the south and maybe Iran. Therefore, we have no choice,” he said.
