A majority of Americans now oppose Israel‘s military actions in Gaza, according to a new Gallup poll that was released on Wednesday.
The poll found that 55% of the country disapproves of Israel’s military involvement in Gaza following Hamas‘s Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The debate about the Israel-Hamas war has spread over the past few months on college campuses and in Congress. The poll’s findings showed a new, sharp shift in public opinion.
Only 36% of the public approve of Israel’s military actions. Republican approval has dropped to 64%, which was previously 71% in November. Only 18% of Democrats approve of Israel’s actions, which is a large drop from 36% in November.
Israel has been engaged in a war with the terrorist organization Hamas for five months. On Monday, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire. The United States abstained rather than voting against the resolution.
Following the U.N. vote, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu withdrew the Israeli delegation to Washington. On Wednesday, Netanyahu reversed his decision and decided to reschedule the delegation’s visit to the U.S.
The poll comes as there remain numerous Israeli hostages still in Hamas captivity in Gaza. Many of the freed hostages have detailed being repeatedly raped and tortured by Hamas.
Biden administration officials have been under pressure from activists in support of an Israel ceasefire.
President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris have been regularly interrupted at speeches and public events by chants from activists.
The president was heckled on Tuesday by numerous protesters during a speech in North Carolina, where he responded that they “have a point” about healthcare in Gaza.
“They have a point; we need to get a lot more care into Gaza,” Joe Biden said.
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The first lady experienced a handful of protesters interrupting her speech with chants about a ceasefire on Saturday night at the Human Rights Campaign’s fundraising dinner in Los Angeles.
The poll was conducted between March 1 and 20. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
