Palestine Chronicle
The results of a recent public opinion poll in Israel showed that 69 percent of Israelis support assassinations in Beirut and Tehran even if they lead to the obstruction of a prisoner exchange deal with Gaza.
This comes after Israel assassinated the head of Hamas’ political bureau Ismail Haniyeh, in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Wednesday, only one day after an Israeli airstrike on the southern suburbs of Beirut killed a prominent military leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Fouad Shukr.
The poll, conducted by the Israeli newspaper Maariv, revealed a narrowing gap between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leader of the opposition National Unity party, Benny Gantz, regarding who is more suitable to head the Israeli government.
According to the poll results, 41 percent of Israelis consider Gantz to be the most suitable candidate for leading the government, while 39 percent support Netanyahu.
The poll also indicates that if elections were held today, the opposition parties would secure 58 out of 120 seats in the Knesset. Gantz’s Blue and White party is projected to win 22 seats, slightly ahead of Netanyahu’s Likud, which is expected to gain 21 seats.
The poll also revealed that 57 percent of Israelis are concerned about the potential breakdown of the country’s social fabric, particularly in light of the investigation into soldiers accused of torturing Palestinian prisoners from Gaza at the Sde Teiman detention camp.
Israel is awaiting a retaliatory response from Hezbollah after the assassination of Shukr, and is also bracing for a response from Iran and Hamas to the assassination of Haniyeh in Tehran.
Ongoing Genocide
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 39,480 Palestinians have been killed, and 91,128 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
Assassinating a chief negotiator for a ceasefire proves Israel does not want a ceasefire.