A poll conducted by Gallup released on January 5th found that U.S. public opinions on the Israel-Hamas war were divided based on party affiliation, gender, age, race, and education.
The poll reveals that Americans remain divided on U.S. involvement in the Israel-Hamas war, as the conflict entered its fourth month. 41 percent of Americans believe the U.S. involvement in the war is “about the right amount,” 39 percent think “not enough,” and 19 percent say “too much.”
Notably, partisan divisions are evident in the public’s views on the war, as well. The poll shows that 26 percent of Republicans believe the United States is doing too much, while only 11 percent of Democrats think so. Additionally, 40 percent of Republicans and 40 percent of Democrats are equally dissatisfied, believing that Washington “is not doing enough.”
Regarding U.S. support for Israel and the Palestinians, the poll found that 38 percent of Americans think the level of support provided to Israel is just right, while 36 percent say it’s too much, and 24 percent say it’s too little. For the Palestinians, 31 percent of Americans think the support is adequate, while 33 percent say it’s insufficient.
The poll also showed that views on the level of U.S. support for Israel and Palestinians were divided among Americans. Forty percent of Democrats think the United States supports Israel too much, while 37 percent of Republicans believed support for Israel is insufficient.
The poll, which was conducted from Dec. 1–20, 2023, found that Israelis Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s favorable rating was 33 percent, with 47 percent holding an unfavorable rating. The results also showed that 50 percent of Americans approved of Israel’s military operation against Hamas, while 45 percent disapproved.
Another poll released by the Harris Poll and HarrisX in October showed that most Americans were in favor of Israel during the war and opposed the Hamas group. A total of 84% of Americans sided with Israel, while 16% supported Hamas. Furthermore, 85 percent of Americans said Hamas’s attack on Israel was intended to provoke war and instability in the Middle East, and 56 percent indicated that the attack indicated widespread anti-Semitism among Palestinians. Hamas launched surprise attacks on Israel on October 7, killing over 1,200 Israeli civilians and 32 Americans, leading to Israel’s military operation to eliminate Hamas.