A ceasefire in Gaza is raising hopes among many in Israel that the country can begin to repair its image abroad, after months of deepening isolation due to the toll of the two-year conflict.

Public opinion in the West has shifted significantly since the war erupted following Islamist group Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.

Outcry has steadily grown over the humanitarian cost of Israel's offensive and several Western nations have publicly recognized a Palestinian state in recent months – despite staunch opposition from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and Washington.

Foreign polls have shown weakening support for Israel's military campaign, even in its most important ally, the United States. More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the enclave's health officials.

Reuters spoke to 13 current and former Israeli officials and experts who acknowledged that the humanitarian toll of the conflict has had a major reputational cost for Israel. Several expressed hope that the release last week of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners and detainees as part of a first phase of the Gaza accord could start the process of reviving Israel’s reputation.

"This could help Israel regain some of the empathy and legitimacy it lost during the war," one Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said this week.

Peter Lerner, a former Israeli military international spokesperson, said that would require policy action on the part of Netanyahu’s government, rather than just words.

He called for "a clear, credible commitment to peace, protection of innocent lives,........

© Japan Today