Special report: Palestine-Israel Conflicts         

    JERUSALEM, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- A majority of Israelis are in favor of continuing the ongoing airstrikes on the Gaza Strip without launching a ground maneuver that might endanger Israeli soldiers, found a poll released Thursday.

    Results of the survey, conducted by local daily Ha'aretz and polling company Dialog, showed that 52 percent of the respondents stand behind the Israeli army in its aerial assaults against the Gaza-ruling Hamas movement.

    Some 19 percent said that the army should launch an extensive ground incursion, according to the poll.

    Meanwhile, 19 percent held that the government should negotiate a ceasefire as soon as possible, while 9 percent responded that they have no opinion or refused to answer.

    Although Israeli leaders stressed that the operation has nothing to do with politics, the survey found that the offensive bodes well for Kadima and Likud, respectively headed by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,who previous polls showed were the two main premiership contendersin the Feb. 10 general election.

    Yet the Labor Party, together with its chief, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, was found to have emerged at this stage as the biggest political winner of the campaign, which Israel's Shin Bet security agency said has dealt Hamas a significant blow.

    The Israel Air Force carried on its air raids against Hamas targets on Thursday, the sixth day of the so-called Operation Cast Lead, which started with an abrupt intensive airborne assaults around Saturday noon.

    Palestinian sources said Thursday that the offensive has so far killed over 400 people and injured over 2,000 others.

    Meanwhile, Gazan militants continued its retaliatory barrage, firing hundreds of rockets and mortar shells at southern Israel with a range of up to 40 kilometers. Since Saturday, the fire has caused four deaths and over a dozen injuries on the Israeli side.