It is time for Israel to turn its attention to Gaza and end the war against Hamas. This is what the leader of the Israeli center party Yesh Atid, Yair Lapid, writes on X on Tuesday, after the shaky agreement on a ceasefire with Iran.
The leader of the opposition party Democrats, Yair Golan, is on the same line.
"Now is the time to complete the mission: to return all hostages, end the war in Gaza and permanently stop the coup that threatens to make Israel weak, divided and vulnerable", he writes on X.
More dead in Gaza
Also, Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz, a warm and long-time friend of Israel, says on Tuesday that the time has come for a ceasefire in Gaza, and the UN condemns Israel's warfare, where "food is used as a weapon". On Tuesday, reports came from rescue workers that more Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire in connection with food distribution in Gaza.
The calls to end the war in Gaza come from several directions, but Israel's conflicts with Iran and Hamas, respectively, are not entirely connected, says political science professor Yossi Shain in Tel Aviv. He emphasizes that the ceasefire with Iran announced on Tuesday night came as a result of efforts by US President Donald Trump, and does not believe that peace between Israel and Hamas is likely at the moment.
He sees the calls for an end to the war in Gaza as a way to look ahead.
It is not something that is current now, today, he says.
Two conditions
Yossi Shain believes that the very idea of a ceasefire with Iran may possibly lead to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu getting further incentives to work to end the war in Gaza, but on the condition that several parameters are taken into account.
One is that all hostages are released immediately. The other is that Hamas does not remain in power. These are the two conditions, he says.
Opinion figures have shown low popularity figures for Netanyahu in recent times, but Shain believes that the popularity figures will rise again as a result of the prime minister's actions in Iran.
It seems now that Netanyahu has turned the trend and gained in popularity, but one never knows, he says.
