After announcing his retirement from politics in 2022, Israelis thought they had seen the last of Naftali Bennett. But 11 months into the war in Gaza and with a deeply unpopular Benjamin Netanyahu leading the government, the former military commander may be primed for a comeback.

Bennett has reportedly begun a grassroots campaign to launch a new political party by contacting hundreds of previous employees and donors to gauge their support. Bennett’s renewed interest in politics follows a Channel 12 survey showing the former prime minister emerging as a strong contender for leadership.

With 40% of respondents in favor of Bennett leading the war in Gaza compared to 29% for Netanyahu, growing dissatisfaction over the current government’s handling of the hostage crisis may cause Israel to call for early elections.

With Bennett’s hypothetical return, his party and Likud would be neck-and-neck, each securing 20 seats, a dramatic increase from Bennett’s previous showing of 7 seats in the 2021 elections. Such a scenario would see both National Unity and Yesh Atid losing ground, dropping to 13 and 11 seats respectively, compared to current projections of 21 and 15 seats without Bennett in the race.

Compared to others, Netanyahu maintained a slight edge. He narrowly led Opposition Leader Yair Lapid by 31% to 29%, and held a more substantial lead over National Unity chair Benny Gantz, with 34% favoring Netanyahu compared to 28% for Gantz.

If he became prime minister again, Bennett said he would apply more pressure on Hamas to undermine their ability to keep fighting.

“What I would do is apply tremendous pressure on Hamas, pressure that is not being used now. For example, Israel right now is allowing huge, vast amounts of fuel and other resources into the strip. And all of this goes directly to Hamas, and that’s giving them the lifeline to continue holding out,” Bennett tells ABC News.

“I think the most important thing in order to get this done is to apply tremendous pressure. And right now, we’re operating at about 5% intensity. We have very few forces right now in the Gaza Strip,” he said. “There’s not a real war going on. There’s a minor presence of IDF. This is not how you win a war. If you want to win a war, you’ve got to fight 200%, not 5%.”

During his brief tenure as prime minister, Bennett achieved notable successes, particularly in his swift response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Israel was among the first countries to secure a large number of vaccine doses and rapidly implement a nationwide vaccination program.

Furthermore, Bennett’s ability to form a diverse coalition government that included an Arab party was viewed by some as a positive step towards political inclusivity and a departure from Netanyahu’s long-standing Likud party dominance.