Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rise in popularity during the war with Iran may already be fading, as pressure mounts at home to end the conflict in Gaza.
Netanyahu claimed victory over the Islamic Republic in the 12-day war that ended with a ceasefire last week, after President Donald Trump ordered US warplanes to join in bombing Iranian nuclear sites.
Political scientist Assaf Meydani, in a column on Israeli website Ynet on Saturday, said that alongside a “victory for both Trump and Netanyahu” in Iran, the Israeli leader “will have to explain a series of failures”.
Most notable among them, according to Meydani, is Netanyahu’s “failure to end the campaign in Gaza”, where Israel has been fighting to crush the Palestinian militant group Hamas since October 2023.
“Hamas, though battered, has not been destroyed, and ‘Swords of Iron’ has become prolonged attrition,” Meydani said, using Israel’s name for its military campaign in the Gaza Strip.
“The people of Israel are strong, but tensions are simmering.”
Israelis fearful of the threat of a nuclear Iran rallied behind Netanyahu as he led the campaign against Israel’s longtime rival. Now that that war is over, domestic and international pressure has resumed to secure an end to the fighting in Gaza.
A public opinion poll published by Israel’s Kan public broadcaster the day after Tuesday’s ceasefire with Iran suggested a rise in support for Netanyahu.
However, while his approval ratings increased compared to previous polls, 52 per cent of respondents in the Kan survey still said they wanted Netanyahu — Israel’s longest-serving prime minister — out of office.
Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed said they wanted the Gaza war to end, compared to 22 per cent who favoured continuing the fighting.
Israeli newspaper Maariv said Friday that its polling showed a “surge” for Netanyahu immediately after the ceasefire with Iran had “evaporated almost entirely” within days.
In the coastal hub of Tel Aviv on Saturday, thousands of people gathered to demand a ceasefire deal that would bring home the dozens of hostages still held in Gaza since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war.
Liri Albag, who was released from captivity in January under a short-lived truce, told the crowd that Netanyahu and Trump “made brave decisions on Iran. Now make the brave decision to end the war in Gaza and bring the hostages home.”
‘Make the deal in Gaza’
Trump wrote on Saturday on his Truth Social platform that “Netanyahu is negotiating a deal with Hamas that will include the release of the hostages.”
On Sunday, he added: “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”
On the same day, Netanyahu said that the war with Iran had created “opportunities” to free the remaining hostages.
Netanyahu has also faced renewed pressure from one of his political rivals, former prime minister Naftali Bennett.
Criticising the Netanyahu government’s “inability to decide” on Gaza, Bennett called for “a comprehensive agreement that includes the release of all the hostages” to end “the terrible impasse and political confusion”.
“Netanyahu must step down. He has been in power for 20 years… that’s far too long”, Bennett told Israel’s Channel 12 in an interview that aired on Saturday.
“The people want change, they want calm,” added Bennett, who is widely expected to run for office again in the next elections, scheduled for late 2026.
Gil Dickman, a prominent activist demanding action by Israel to secure the release of the hostages, said that while “the operation in Iran was a success”, Netanyahu had “failed” to “make people forget his responsibility” for failing to prevent Hamas’s unprecedented 2023 attack.
Dickman, whose cousin Carmel Gat was killed in captivity and her body retrieved from Gaza in August, told AFP that Netanyahu’s “terrible failures and the abandonment of the hostages will not be forgotten”.
Expressing “cautious optimism” after Trump’s recent remarks, Dickman said there was “apparently an opportunity to end the war”.
“We couldn’t save my cousin, but we can still save those who are still alive in Gaza.”
Israeli forces kill fresh 34 in Gaza
Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed 34 people on Monday, including 11 waiting for aid.
Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that “11 people (were) killed near aid distribution points in the central and southern parts of the territory.”
Eyewitnesses and local authorities have reported repeated killings of Palestinians near distribution centres over recent weeks.
Samir Abu Jarbou, 28, told AFP by phone that he had gone with four relatives to pick up food aid in an area of central Gaza around midnight.
“Suddenly the (Israeli) army opened fire, and drones started shooting. We ran away and got nothing,” he said.
“The situation is catastrophic. We are suffering from terrible hunger. My only wish is to succeed in getting a bag of flour to feed my seven siblings.”
Bassal said 23 people were killed in at least seven separate strikes across the territory, mainly in the north.
When asked for comment by AFP, the Israeli military said it needed more information to look into the reports.
