In Israel, pressure mounts on Netanyahu to end war

After being pushed by Donald Trump to end the war in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now faces intense pressure at home to reach a cease-fire, especially after the death of five soldiers.

The five soldiers died Monday in Gaza while Netanyahu was on a visit to Washington, where he met twice with the U.S. president, who wants to end the "tragedy" in Gaza.

Even though Netanyahu said he was optimistic about an agreement involving a truce and the release of hostages held in Gaza, frustration is growing among much of the population in Israel over a conflict they see as stalled, the lack of progress on freeing the hostages, and the rising number of soldiers killed.

"It is time to make history. Bring ALL the hostages home. End the war," the Hostage Families Forum wrote Tuesday night on the social network Truth Social, in a message addressed to Trump.

In a sarcastic tone, Raanan Shaked, a prominent journalist with the newspaper Yedioth Aharonot, wrote: "After 642 days, a day, a week, a month or two more won't change much."

"There is still time. Go to Washington [...] Keep showing you're busy 'narrowing the gap'" with Hamas, he added.

'For the state of Israel'

Before Monday's attack, seven soldiers were killed June 25 in the explosion of their armored vehicle in Gaza, one of the deadliest attacks on Israeli forces since the war began 21 months ago.

According to an AFP count based on Israeli military data, 450 soldiers have been killed since the start of the Gaza war, triggered by an unprecedented attack by the Islamist Hamas movement on Oct. 7, 2023, in Israel. In response, Israel launched a devastating offensive in Gaza, saying it aimed to destroy Hamas.

Public calls to end the war have been issued almost daily in recent months by opposition leaders.

At the latest rally outside a U.S. embassy annex in Tel Aviv, demonstrators urged Trump to push for an end to the war and the return of all the hostages.

"For the soldiers, for their families, for the hostages, for the State of Israel: this war must stop," wrote opposition leader Yair Lapid on X.

The ruling coalition, on the other hand, has largely supported Netanyahu's determination to continue military operations in Gaza until "the elimination of Hamas's military and governmental capabilities," as Netanyahu reiterated Tuesday at the White House.

'Fear of Netanyahu'

At this stage, the majority of the Israeli population supports ending the war, Gideon Rahat, professor of political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, told AFP.

Its continuation is desired by a "minority running the country," he said. This minority is composed of the two far-right parties led by ministers Bezalel Smotrich (Finance) and Itamar Ben Gvir (National Security), who are "more extreme than their own voters," he said.

The majority of Likud's lawmakers, Netanyahu's right-wing party holding more than a quarter of the seats in the Knesset, "do not dare to speak out because they are afraid of Netanyahu," Rahat added.

Nevertheless, voices within the government coalition have recently expressed opposition to the war.

The death of seven soldiers on June 25 prompted a rare criticism from a lawmaker in an ultra-Orthodox party, a coalition partner.

"I still don't understand why we are fighting there [...] Soldiers are dying all the time," Moshé Gafni said Tuesday.

The Oct. 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data.

In the Gaza Strip, at least 57,680 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in the Israeli retaliatory military campaign, according to data from the Hamas-run Health Ministry, figures considered reliable by the U.N.