JERUSALEM 

Amid an intensified Israeli army onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's popularity continues to decline, with a recent opinion poll favoring Benny Gantz, leader of the National Unity Party and current member of the war council, to become the next premier.  

According to a poll published on Friday by the Israeli newspaper Maariv, 48% of Israelis express a preference for Gantz as prime minister, while only 34% believe that Netanyahu is suitable for his position.

The newspaper reported that the poll, conducted by the Lazar Institute, included a random sample of 519 Israelis, with an estimated error rate of 4.3%.

The survey highlights a consistent decline in the Likud Party's popularity, led by Netanyahu, similar to previous polls conducted after Oct. 7, the date the devastating war on Gaza commenced. 

If general elections were held today, the poll suggests that Gantz's National Unity Party would secure 36 seats in the 120-member Knesset. In comparison, Netanyahu's Likud Party would secure 19 seats, followed by opposition leader Yair Lapid, head of the Yesh Atid (There is Future) Party, with 14 seats. 

In the current Knesset term, the National Unity Party holds 12 lawmakers, while the Likud Party has 32 lawmakers, and the Yesh Atid Party has 24 lawmakers. 

Israel launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 22,600 Palestinians have since been killed and 57,910 others injured, according to Gaza’s health authorities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with 60% of the enclave's infrastructure damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar