JERUSALEM — Protests took place in northern Israeli towns in recent days, with demonstrators directing anger at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his wartime leadership following the U.S.-brokered ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Residents of border communities had endured six weeks of missile fire from the Iran-backed group before the truce took effect.

Israeli forces are occupying a 10-kilometer (6-mile) swath of southern Lebanon under the terms of the agreement, which extended an earlier ceasefire reached on April 8. Hezbollah has not been defeated, though Israel has achieved several military successes against the group and against Iran.

Asaf Oakil, a resident of Kiryat Shmona, voiced opposition to the agreement. "I live 100 meters from the border," he said. "The ceasefire? It's a mistake."

A poll by the Israel Democracy Institute conducted in the days after the April 8 ceasefire found that Israelis rated the government's management of the war more negatively than positively, and that a majority believed the fighting in Lebanon against Hezbollah should continue. The survey was carried out before the U.S.-brokered and extended ceasefire took hold.

Dahlia Scheindlin, a political analyst, said in a podcast interview that public dissatisfaction stemmed from unmet war aims. "People were disappointed because it hadn't achieved the goals," she said.

Netanyahu's government is in the final months of its four-year term and must hold elections by the end of October. Opposition politicians Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid announced that they will join forces in the next election, and former military chief Gadi Eisenkot is expected to join their coalition.

Nadav Eyal, a commentator, said the unsettled security situation could weigh on the vote. "With unstable ceasefires that can lapse at any given point, voters will be not happy about it," he said.