JERUSALEM, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Almost half of Israelis want to hold off on any invasion of Gaza, according to a poll published on Friday, in what may indicate a dip in support for the planned next stage of the counter-offensive against Hamas militants holding some 200 hostages.
Israel vowed to annihilate Hamas in response to the Palestinian Islamists' killing and kidnapping spree in its southern communities on Oct. 7, and has been stepping up tank and infantry raids in concert with heavy shelling of the enclave.
Asked if the military should immediately escalate to a large-scale ground offensive, 29% of Israelis agreed while 49% said "it would be better to wait" and 22% were undecided, the poll published in the Maariv newspaper said.
The daily said the results contrasted with its Oct. 19 poll that found 65% support for a major ground offensive.
"From a breakdown of the answers, it emerges that there is no division in accordance with political camp or demographics, and that it is almost certain that the developments on the matter of the hostages, which is now topping the agenda, have had a great impact on this shift (in opinion)," Maariv wrote.
Hamas freed four hostages over the last week amid efforts by regional mediator countries to arrange a larger-scale release.
Hamas says around 50 hostages have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza. One ex-hostage said she had been held, along with at least two dozen others, in an underground Hamas tunnel and bunker complex that is a focus of Israel's offensive.
Maariv polled a representative sample of 522 adult Israelis. The margin of error was 4.3%, the newspaper said.
Drones caused explosions that rocked two Egyptian towns on the Red Sea on Friday, the Egyptian army said, while Israel said Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement sent them to strike Israel.
Israel is rejecting calls for respite in Gaza as its closest allies in the West have coalesced around the idea of "humanitarian pauses", or temporary stops to the bombardment.
Israel's military has told international news organisations Reuters and Agence France Presse that it cannot guarantee the safety of their journalists operating in the Gaza Strip, under Israeli bombardment and siege for almost three weeks.
The United States is not trying to dictate limits for Israel, the White House said on Friday, as the Israelis expanded their military operation in Gaza against Hamas militants.
The United Nations General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly called for an immediate humanitarian truce between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas and demanded aid access to the besieged Gaza Strip and protection of civilians.
A medical team and 10 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Friday via the Rafah crossing with Egypt, carrying water, food and medicine, a Palestinian border official told Reuters.
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