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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returns home today after a meeting with President Trump and without a breakthrough on a Gaza ceasefire. Many Israelis are increasingly eager to see the 21-month-long war come to an end. NPR's Itay Stern reports from Tel Aviv on a shifting public sentiment.
ITAY STERN, BYLINE: Many Israelis are exhausted from the war. A survey last week found 80% of Israelis believe the most urgent task facing their country is to end the fighting in Gaza. Nearly 1 in 7 people say their views on the war have changed. They once supported the offensive against Hamas in Gaza, but now they oppose it. That shift has a lot to do with Israeli hostages still held in Gaza and soldiers dying on the battlefield.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Chanting in Hebrew).
STERN: The Hebrew prayer for the dead was chanted at a military funeral this week for 28-year-old Benny Assouline. He was killed with four other soldiers in Northern Gaza.
STAV ASHER: (Speaking Hebrew).
STERN: At his funeral, a close friend, Stav Asher (ph), eulogized him with unusually harsh words.
ASHER: (Speaking Hebrew).
STERN: "You were a heroic fighter in a war with no purpose," he said. More than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to Gaza health officials. Israelis are focused on the death of their soldiers. According to Israel's military, 40 soldiers have been killed in Gaza since March, and overall, 446 soldiers have died there. That's making many public figures question the war. On a popular reality TV show recently, one panelist said soldiers have high motivation. Israel's iconic pop diva, Dana International, jumped in.
DANA INTERNATIONAL: (Speaking Hebrew).
STERN: "I'm talking about sending 18- and 19-year-old children into Gaza without knowing anything about the world," she said. "Not everyone is happy on the frontlines. War is scary."
MICHAEL MILSTEIN: The majority of the Israeli society really wants this war to end.
STERN: Michael Milstein is an analyst and former Israeli military intelligence officer.
MILSTEIN: Because of one prominent thing that the government cannot give, cannot supply the people. And this is an answer about what is the target? What is the purpose, the strategy of this war?
STERN: Though the Israeli government is involved in negotiations toward a ceasefire, the far right in the government wants the war to continue until Hamas is totally defeated. But increasingly, many Israelis are afraid of a war of attrition that drags on and on.
Itay Stern, NPR News, Tel Aviv.
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