Almost half of the respondents to a KAN News poll published on Monday felt that Israel should pursue phase two of the ceasefire deal.
However, one in ten wants to resume military operations even if it means leaving the remaining hostages in captivity.
Some 44% of respondents to the poll felt that Israel should further advance negotiations on phase two of the ceasefire and hostage release agreements with Hamas.
KAN News reported that 34% of respondents supported the framework pushed by US special envoy Steve Witkoff, which included extending the ceasefire and releasing half the remaining hostages at the start.
On the other hand, 9% supported resuming military operations even at the cost of leaving the remaining hostages in captivity, and 13% responded that they were undecided.
Negotiations over the continued release of hostages held in Gaza have stalled, sources familiar with details of the talks told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.
“Hamas is currently rejecting [US Middle East envoy Steve] Witkoff’s proposal, so it is very difficult to make progress,” one official said.
What is in Witkoff's phase two framework?
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Witkoff’s plan involves the release of half of the living hostages and the return of half of the hostages' bodies still held in Gaza on the first day of the continued deal.
The rest of the hostages and bodies would be returned on the 42nd day, which would be the final day of the ceasefire.
KAN also polled respondents on humanitarian aid going to Gaza. Some 47% of respondents said that stopping the humanitarian aid increases Hamas's willingness to release hostages, while 30% believe that it hinders it. 23% of respondents stated they were unsure whether it hindered or helped hostage negotiations.
Respondents' views towards Netanyahu's fitness for office
The poll also asked respondents to share their opinions on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ongoing corruption trial.
41% of respondents supported declaring Netanyahu as unfit for office due to the trial. In comparison, 28% favored suspending the trial until the Israel-Hamas War ends, with a further 18% believing that the trial should be canceled entirely. 13% were undecided, KAN News reported.
Netanyahu is currently juggling his responsibilities as Israel's sitting prime minister and presenting his defense on various corruption charges.
Netanyahu's suitability as prime minister
The KAN News poll also explored respondents' views towards Netanyahu's suitability as prime minister compared to those of his leading political rivals.
The outlet found that 38% of respondents favored Netanyahu over Benny Gantz, while 26% supported the reverse.
Some 40% of respondents supported Netanyahu against Yair Lapid, but 24% supported the reverse.
38% of respondents supported Netanyahu against Gadi Eisenkot, while 32% supported the reverse.
Nonetheless, 39% of respondents favored Naftali Bennett for prime minister over Netanyahu, while 35% supported Netanyahu instead.
Knesset seat forecasts
The poll also explored how respondents would likely vote in a general election were it to occur today.
KAN News found that Netanyahu's bloc could secure 55 Knesset seats and that his suitability as prime minister strengthened against other leading candidates since the previous poll was conducted on February 13.
The poll found that Likud would be the largest single party with 26 seats, while Benny Gantz's National Unity would win 16 seats, and Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu would win 15.
Yair Golan's Democrats party would win 12 seats, while Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid would win 11. Shas would have 10, and United Torah Judaism would secure eight seats. Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit would win seven seats, and Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism would win four.
The two main Arab-Israeli parties, Hadash-Ta'al and Ra'am, would meet the voter threshold with six and five seats, respectively.
However, KAN News reported that Balad (2.1%) and Gideon Sa'ar's National Right (1.5%) would not pass the electoral threshold.
Alternative political scenarios
The poll also examined the possibility of forming a new right-wing party led by Naftali Bennett, as well as a potential merger between National Unity and Yesh Atid led by Gadi Eizenkot.
In this alternative scenario, Bennett's party would win 25 seats, and Likud would drop to 23.
A National Unity–Yesh Atid merger would win 22 seats, which is notably lower than their combined total in the original poll.
The Democrats Party and Shas would each win nine seats, while Otzma Yehudit, Yisrael Beytenu, and United Torah Judaism would each score seven.
Hadash-Ta'al and Ra'am would be unaffected, remaining at six and five seats, respectively, but Religious Zionists would fail to meet the electoral threshold.
If this new right-wing party emerges, Netanyahu's bloc would fall from 55 seats in the current poll to 46 seats.
The survey's sample size was 601 men and women aged 18 and above, with a margin of error of ±4.0%.
Amichai Stein contributed to this report