section_path: Reactions/Israel
section_name: Israel
paragraph_text: Israel
  
  The Israeli government's response to the 7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel has multiple aspects, including a military response leading to the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. In October, the Knesset approved a war cabinet in Israel, adding National Unity ministers and altering the government; Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz froze non-war legislation, establishing a war cabinet with military authority.
  
  Settler expansions and officials' remarks heightened unrest, leading to protests within Israel. The Knesset's law criminalizing "terrorist materials" consumption drew criticism.
  
  In an interview to the Wall Street Journal on 25 December, Netanyahu said that Israel's objectives were to "destroy Hamas, demilitarize Gaza and deradicalize the whole of Palestinian society".
  
  There was broad support in Israeli society for military operations in Gaza. A public opinion poll conducted in December 2023 by the Israel Democracy Institute found that 87% of Jewish Israelis supported the war in Gaza.
  
  In another Israel Democracy Institute survey of 510 Israeli citizens in early February 2024, 68% of respondents supported preventing all international aid from entering Gaza.
  
  A poll commissioned by Penn State University and conducted in March 2025 among a representative sample of 1,005 Israeli Jews found that 82% supported the forced expulsion of Gaza residents. Additionally, 47% responded affirmatively to the question: "When conquering an enemy city, should the IDF act like the Israelites led by Joshua when they conquered Jericho, that is, kill all its inhabitants?"