Israelis overwhelmingly are confident in the justice of the Gaza war, even as world sentiment sours

By AMY TEIBEL
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — At a time when world sentiment has begun to sour on Israel’s devastating offensive in Gaza, the vast majority of Israelis are convinced of the justice of the war. Still under rocket and missile attacks on several fronts, they have little tolerance for anyone railing against the steep toll the conflict has exacted on the other side. They have rallied to crush Hamas after its militants breached the country’s borders from the Gaza Strip and triggered the war. More than 1,400 people were killed in that attack and over 240 taken hostage. Capturing the prevailing sentiment in Israel, former Prime Minister Ehud Barak said other countries would have reacted the same way to such a cross-border attack with mass casualties.