A majority of Americans currently don't agree with Israel’s conflict with Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza. Support has decreased from 50 percent in November to 36 percent this month, according to a new Gallup poll. new Gallup poll.
The number of people who disapprove has increased from 45 percent in November to 55 percent in March. About 9 percent of the participants in the latest Gallup poll have no opinion on the matter.
But support for Israel’s conflict is split between political parties, with 64 percent of Republicans backing the military action in Gaza, compared to just 18 percent of Democrats.
However, both Democrats and the GOP have seen a decrease in support since November, when 71 percent of Republicans and 36 percent of Democrats backed Israel’s conflict.
Among independents, backing for Israel’s military action in Gaza dropped from 47 percent to 29 percent in the same time period.
Protests urging for a cease-fire and to safeguard Palestinian lives have become common across the U.S., while others argue that Israel has a right to defend itself against Hamas, which entered on Oct. 7, resulting in over 1,100 deaths and roughly 250 hostages, with 100 believed to still be in custody in Gaza.
However, the nearly six-month conflict shows no signs of ending, even as more than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed and the United Nations is warning of a famine in northern Gaza.
Democrats are becoming angry about the death toll and humanitarian crisis, especially with Arab Americans and young voters pledging to protest at the polls in November. About 13 percent of Democrats in the primary for Michigan, a key battleground state in November, voted “uncommitted” instead of for President Biden.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) this month called for new elections in Israel as he accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being “too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza.”
The Biden administration is working to increase humanitarian aid into Gaza while also taking a tougher stance on the conflict, abstaining this week from a United Nations Security Council resolution that called for an immediate cease-fire for the next two weeks and the release of hostages. Netanyahu canceled a delegation to Washington after the vote.
Biden and key members of his Cabinet are also urging Israel to reconsider a major ground operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians are seeking shelter from the conflict.
Gallup surveyed a random sample of 1,016 adults aged 18 and above and living in the United States via phone interviews from March 1-20, and the survey has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
