Just a third of Americans say they now support Israel’s actions in Gaza, and almost all of them are Republicans, a new poll finds.
The poll by Gallup is the latest in a series by the polling firm about U.S. attitudes about the war. Early on, in November 2023, it found that half of Americans approved of the actions Israel was taking in Gaza, and fewer disapproved. (Some said they did not know.) By last June, more Americans disapproved than approved, Gallup found, but there was still 42% approval.
Now, more than a year later, the proportion of Americans who say they approve of Israel’s war in Gaza has fallen to 32%, according to the poll. Among Democrats, who started out at 36% approval, the proportion has fallen to just 8%.
The proportion of Republicans who approve of Israel’s actions in Gaza is at the same level today — 71% — as it was in November 2023, Gallup found. The gap was the largest partisan divide on the issue that the poll has ever found.
The poll was conducted July 7-21, starting when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Washington, D.C., and continuing during a period when concerns about a humanitarian crisis in Gaza were simmering but had not reached their current level. The results add to mounting signs that Israel is losing the support it has long enjoyed among Democrats.
The poll also found both a plummeting approval rating for Netanyahu and sharp disapproval for Israel’s military actions in Iran among Democrats.
Netanyahu's image has reached record lows among Americans
The poll noted that a majority of Americans have a negative view of Netanyahu, with 52% of all the polled people having an unfavorable view of the Israeli Prime Minister.
The partisan divide shows that the majority of Americans with negative views of Netanyahu are democrats, with only 9% having positive opinions.
The age is also an important variant, with the younger age group (18 to 34 years old) having only 6% of favorable opinions about Netanyahu, 9% about Gaza's war, and 15% about Iran's war.
Israel still retains the majority of its supporters among those aged 55 and older, with all three categories marking almost a 50% approval rate.