The Israeli public would prioritize toppling Hamas over returning the hostages held in Hamas captivity if Israel's leaders were to be faced with such a decision, according to The Jewish People Policy Institute's (JPPI) monthly Israeli Society Index for February.
Although the question posed to Israel's public was hypothetical, it has been the topic of heated discussion throughout the Israel-Hamas war.
There has been much criticism of Israel's government for not doing more to prioritize hostage's release from Hamas captivity.
Details of the survey
The question was posed to Israel's public by asking individuals to "assume Israel’s leaders reach the conclusion that they only have the two following options: the hostages are returned, and Hamas remains in control of Gaza, or the hostages are not returned, and Hamas loses control of Gaza, which do you think should be chosen?"
According to the survey, 40% of Israel's population would choose to overthrow Hamas, in contrast to 32% of Israel's population who would rather prioritize the release of hostages.
Among Israeli Arabs, those who believe Israel will achieve victory is substantially lower. About a quarter (28%) rated their confidence in Israeli victory as high, while 44% rated it as low (1 or 2 out of five).
Should the hostages be returned at all costs?
According to JPPI's president, Prof. Yedida Stern, the military operation in Rafah that freed two hostages was a huge risk to the IDF soldiers involved.
However, that does not mean that "the public believes that 'everything' should be done to return the captives," said Stern.
Despite the findings, Israel's public has become less optimistic about the country's ability to win the Israel-Hamas war. The index study showed a decline in the public's confidence in comparison to the survey done in October. As of February, there has been a 20% drop in confidence that Israel will win the war among Israel's Jewish population.
In February, the share of Jews who expressed high levels of confidence in victory by rating themselves as 4 or 5 on a scale of 1 to 5 came out to be only slightly more than half.
These results reflect a drop of twenty percentage points when compared to the October survey.
A shift in opinions since October
Some further findings of the study continue to reflect the shift of opinions in Israel's public as the country's war against Hamas continues.
The study found that a majority of the Israeli public supports going to early elections, with 36% of the public supporting elections within the next three months.
Additionally, there has also been a decline in the public's trust in IDF commanders. However, political stance plays a role in these results, as there is 83% higher trust among opposition supporters than among coalition supporters who currently stand at 57%.