Support for Benjamin Netanyahu‘s government has increased to pre-October 7 levels after new operations in Lebanon and Syria, including the Hezbollah pager attacks.
Netanyahu’s Likud party, which had suffered in polls since the Hamas attacks last year, rebounded in a turnaround after Israel assassinated senior Hezbollah and Hamas leaders in Beirut and Tehran.
The most recent polls, published in the Maariv newspaper, showed Likud winning 24 seats in parliament, which is its highest score since October 7. Likud currently holds 32 seats in the parliament. The poll put the National Unity Party on 21 seats.
With these results, Netanyahu’s coalition would still lose an election if it were held today, with 53 seats in the 120-seat parliament, against 58 for the main opposition bloc, but the numbers are an improvement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a commemoration ceremony for soldiers killed during the 2014 Gaza war, also known as Operation Protective Edge, at the Memorial Hall on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on July 16, 2024. On July 23, 2024.
ABIR SULTAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images
Netanyahu’s approval ratings slumped after October 7, with the failure to anticipate the attacks widely seen as one of the largest security failings in Israel’s history.
Newsweek contacted the office of the Israeli Prime Minister for comment on the new findings.
The increased approval ratings coincided with the ramping up of conflict with Lebanon, which included an air strike last Friday that killed high-profile commanders of Hezbollah’s Radwan force.
To continue the offensive Israel has launched “Operation Northern Arrows,” a series of airstrikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon.
The Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, unveiled the operation to secure Israel’s northern border against Hezbollah attacks, with the intention of up to 60,000 displaced Israelis returning to their homes, while he warned Israel was preparing for the next steps of the operation.
Last week, Israel said it was shifting the focus of its firepower from Gaza to its Lebanon front last week, calling it a “new phase” of war with the Iran-backed Lebanese militia.
The pager attacks in Lebanon and Syria were also well-received by the Israeli public. Pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded in Lebanon and Syria on September 17, killing at least 12 people, including two young children, before walkie-talkies blew up on Wednesday, killing at least 20 people and wounding thousands.
Hezbollah believes both attacks were carried out by Israel, which is yet to make any official comment. The organization retaliated by launching a large-scale attack into parts of northern Israel, including missile strikes which it claims were “in solidarity with Hamas.”
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