US public support for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza is eroding and most Americans think Israel should call a ceasefire to a conflict that has ballooned into a humanitarian crisis, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Some 32 per cent of respondents in the two-day opinion poll, which closed on Tuesday, said “the US should support Israel” when asked what role the United States should take in the fighting. That was down from 41pc who said the US should back Israel in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted on October 12-13.
Four per cent of respondents in the poll said the US should support Palestinians and 15pc said the US shouldn’t be involved at all, both similar readings to a month ago.
Israel has long counted on the US, its most powerful ally, for billions of dollars a year in military aid and international diplomatic support. An erosion of US public support could be a worrisome sign for the Middle Eastern country, which faces not only Hamas fighters in Gaza but the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon and has conducted a long-running “shadow war” with Iran.
The drop in US support, seen in the new poll among both Democrats and Republicans and especially among older respondents, follows weeks of heavy Israeli bombardment and ground combat against Hamas in Gaza in retaliation for the October 7 rampage in southern Israel. About 1,200 people were killed and around 240 taken hostage.
Some 68pc of respondents in the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they agreed with a statement that “Israel should call a ceasefire and try to negotiate”.
About three-quarters of Democrats and half of Republicans in the poll supported the idea of a ceasefire, putting them at odds with Democratic President Joe Biden who has rebuffed calls from Arab leaders, including Palestinians, to pressure Israel into a ceasefire.
The Biden administration instead has urged Israel to avoid civilian casualties.
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