A Direct Polls survey of 512 IDF reservists who served more than 30 days over the past six months shows that a majority is not satisfied with the way the war in Gaza is being conducted. Asked, “To what extent are you satisfied with the conduct of the war so far?” only 7% said they are very satisfied, 24% quite satisfied, 47% not so satisfied, and 22% not satisfied at all.
The poll was conducted between May 5 and 7, with a sampling error of 5.2% +/- and a probability of 95%.
Q: In the Israeli public today, two main approaches are being considered: ‘deal now’ – which involves an immediate release of about 30 hostages, or ‘Rafah now’ – which includes the occupation of Rafah and escalation of military pressure to subjugate Hamas. In your opinion, which of these approaches is more critical to the security of the country today?
- Deal now – 24%
- Rafah now – 72%
- No position on the matter – 4%.
Q: Some of the families of the hostages are protesting and blocking roads to promote a deal for their release. Do you think these actions increase or decrease the likelihood of releasing the hostages?
- Increase the likelihood – 18%
- No impact – 22%
- Decrease the likelihood – 60%.
Q: According to publications in the media, the US conditions the IDF’s entry into Rafah on the introduction of aid trucks to the Gaza Strip, while at the same time, according to reports, Hamas takes over a significant part of these aid trucks. Do you support or oppose the introduction of aid trucks into the Gaza Strip?
- Support, it’s a humanitarian issue – 9%
- Support only provided Hamas will not take it – 33%
- Oppose, we shouldn’t aid the enemy in wartime – 57%.
Q: On the eve of the outbreak of the war, Israel was under the most severe political tension in its history. Did your reserve service make you change the nature of your debates with people who disagree with you, or even accept their position?
- The nature of my debates and positions changed – 9%
- The nature of debates changed but my positions remained identical – 44%
- There was a change in my positions but not the nature of my debates – 4%
- There was no change in the nature of my debates nor my positions – 44%.
The survey authors broke down each segment according to the political affiliations of the respondents, which we didn’t include. However, we did feel it was necessary to present the political breakdown regarding this particular question:
Q: Who in your opinion was responsible for the failure of October 7?
- The political echelon – 18%
- The military – 35%
- Both are equally to blame – 47%.
Q: To what extent, in your opinion, have the widespread calls for refusal to serve over the past year harmed the security of the country?
- Harmed very much – 54%
- Harmed quite a bit – 15%
- Didn’t harm so much – 12%
- Didn’t harm at all – 18%.
Q: Do you feel that the IDF General Staff accurately represents the diverse human makeup of the fighters?
- Yes – 18%
- No – 58%
- I don’t have a position on the matter – 24%.
Q: And do you feel that the members of the limited war cabinet accurately represent the diverse human makeup of IDF fighters?
- Yes – 19%
- No – 68%
- I don’t have a position on the matter –13%.
Q: To what extent do you identify with the values and protest actions of the ‘Brothers in Arms’ organization?
- I identify with the values and actions of this group – 19%
- I identify with the group’s values but not its manner of action – 10%
- I don’t identify with the group’s values or actions –11%
- I object to the group’s values and actions – 49%
- I am not familiar with this group – 11%.
Q: What is your principled position regarding the nature of the changes the government tried to promote in the judicial system before October 7?
- I supported them very much – 34%
- I quite supported them – 22%
- I did not support them so much – 14%
- I didn’t support them at all – 30%.
Q: And what is your position regarding these changes following the war?
- My view was enhanced – 46%
- My view did not change – 28%
- Now I support the changes provided there is an agreement – 17%
- Now I don’t support the reform in the judicial system – 9%.
