About 60% of Russians following news about Israel-Hamas conflict - poll

MOSCOW. Oct 31 (Interfax) - More than half of Russians (58%) are following news about the hostilities between Israel and Hamas, the findings of a poll conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) published on the sociological center's official website on Tuesday indicated.

The survey's findings show that almost one in five (18%) are closely following the situation from the news, while 40% of citizens are monitoring the situation from time to time.

The poll shows that Russians aged over 60 (70%) pay the most attention to news about the conflict.

One in four Russians (25%) are not following the armed conflict between Israel and Hamas at all, another 1% of citizens do not know what to say about it, and the remaining 16% of respondents, or one in six, said that they had not heard about the conflict, the sociologists said.

When asked by FOM about the possibility of a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine, 36% of Russians said they admit it's possible, while 39% of their fellow citizens do not believe in the sides' coexistence. One in four (25%) found it difficult to make any assumption.

The poll was conducted on October 13-15, 2023. It surveyed 1,500 respondents aged 18 and over in 104 Russian communities in 53 regions.