'Israelis support Gaza operation'

A new opinion poll shows Israelis strongly support their country's offensive in the Gaza Strip. The poll shows 78 per cent of Israelis see the operation Israel launched on December 27 as a success.

A new opinion poll shows Israelis strongly support their country's offensive in the Gaza Strip. The poll shows 78 per cent of Israelis see the operation Israel launched on December 27 as a success.

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That number matches the country's Jewish population. Roughly 20 per cent of Israelis are Arabs who identify with the Palestinians and have largely opposed the offensive.

Gaza health officials say more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed, at least half of them civilians.

The poll found that the war has given a sharp popularity boost to Defense Minister Ehud Barak's Labor Party ahead of February 10 elections. But it shows hard-line opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu maintaining his overall lead.

Pollsters interviewed 561 people and the margin of error was 4.3 percentage points.