A majority (51%) of all Israelis and most (60%) of coalition voters say that Hamas's treatment of Israeli hostages is comparable to the Nazi treatment of Jews during the Holocaust, according to an exclusive Jerusalem Post and Panel4All.co.il poll.
The poll, carried out by Menachem Lazar and Panel4All on February 10-11, also found that the absolute majority (73%) of all Israelis support fully completing the ceasefire deal with Hamas to return all hostages.
The sight of the emaciated hostages who were returned last week also caused 68% to want to expedite the deal and release of hostages as much as possible, and only 13% wanted to stop the deal and get back to fighting Hamas as a result.
Hamas's treatment of hostages sparks comparison to Holocaust
The hostages Or Levy, Ohad Ben Ami, and Eli Sharabi were released by Hamas and appeared to be in very poor condition. Frail and with sunken faces, their appearances instantly caused many to compare them to Holocaust survivors as they were liberated from Nazi concentration camps.
"They look like Holocaust survivors. They were in horrible condition. They were emaciated," US President Donald Trump said on Sunday in response.
"The Israeli hostages look like Holocaust survivors," Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said on Saturday, adding that "This Hamas-Nazi evil must be eradicated."
"These images evoke the horrifying pictures from the liberation of the camps in 1945, the darkest chapter of our history," the Hostages and Missing Families Forum commented.
However, several others opposed the comparison. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich condemned such notions, saying, "comparisons to the Holocaust are a grave mistake."
When asked how they felt about the comparison between Hamas’s treatment of hostages and the actions of the Nazis, 51% of respondents – 60% of coalition supporters and 47% of opposition supporters – said the comparison is correct and that in both cases there was dehumanization and deliberate starvation.
Some 30% disagreed, however, saying that there are similarities, but these are different cases. There were 11% who said it was an exaggerated and misplaced comparison, while 8% said they don’t know enough about the subject to make a comparison.
When asked about their position on the hostage deal, there was an overwhelming majority of support.
Almost three-fourths (73%) of respondents said the entire deal must be completed until the last hostage returns – consisting of 58% of coalition supporters and 89% of opposition supporters. Just 15% said that only phase one of the deal should be completed before going back to fighting in Gaza until Hamas is defeated, and 5% said the ceasefire should end and the fighting should be resumed immediately. The remaining 2% said they didn’t know.
When asked how, if at all, the sight of the emaciated hostages on Saturday influenced their opinion on the hostage deal, 68% of respondents said it made them want to speed up the return of the hostages as much as possible. This consisted of 57% of coalition supporters and 81% of opposition supporters. Some 13% of respondents said it made them want to stop the deal and resume fighting right away, while 19% said it didn’t change their mind about the deal at all.
The hostage deal was set to see the release of dozens of hostages from Gaza in exchange for a ceasefire in the fighting and the release of several Palestinian prisoners. However, on Sunday, Hamas announced it was delaying the next release of hostages, alleging Israeli violations of the ceasefire.