Almost half of Israelis support holding off on an invasion of the Gaza Strip, a poll published on Friday has found. The results could show public reluctance to escalate the offensive against Hamas, as Israeli leaders ready their forces. Israel vowed to annihilate the Palestinian militant group after it killed 1,400 people in a surprise assault on 7 October. It unleashed a relentless bombardment on Gaza, which so far has killed more than 7,000 Palestinians, and stepped up tank and infantry raids on the besieged enclave. In the poll published by the Maariv newspaper, 29% of Israelis agreed the military should launch a large-scale ground offensive immediately, 49% said "it would be better to wait", while 22% were undecided. Its poll from 19 October found that 65% supported a major ground offensive. — Euronews