In a provocative opinion piece, acclaimed Israeli journalist Amira Hass has argued that despite mass protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and calls for a ceasefire deal, the daily actions of the general public in Israel demonstrate unwavering support for the ongoing military offensive in Gaza.

Hass pointed to the continued willingness of Israeli parents to send their children to the front line; the participation of thousands of Israeli soldiers in military operations involving “mass killing and rampant destruction in Gaza“; and the “smug bestiality” displayed by soldiers in social media posts as a kind of daily poll showing support for the war effort.

“The unshakable willingness of parents to send their children to kill and be killed, to wound and be wounded, and then to suffer all their lives from post-trauma, is a constant, unchanging response in a poll conducted daily,” wrote Hass. “Reservists rushing between the Kaplan Street demonstrations and the ruins of Gaza or its skies, peppered with bombers or predator drones, are also respondents to a poll, whose answer is unambiguous.”

Hass said that this support persists even as many Israelis recognise that Netanyahu’s policies are motivated by personal interests rather than the national good. She contended that there is an implicit consensus among the Israeli public, reflected in the “whitewashed language” of the media, that war remains the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, regardless of revulsion towards the current government.

The opinion piece comes as Israel’s offensive in Gaza stretches into its sixth month, with the death toll mounting to 33,000 and no clear diplomatic resolution in sight. While the anti-Netanyahu protests have drawn large crowds, Hass’s analysis raises uncomfortable questions about the indoctrination of Israeli society and the depth of support for a campaign that many are calling a genocide.