Majority of Americans now oppose Israel's war in Gaza, poll finds

Support among Americans has dropped from 50 per cent to 36 per cent since November, Gallup shows

Protesters gather at Freedom Plaza during a march for Palestine in Washington. Getty Images

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A majority of Americans oppose Israel's war in Gaza, a major poll shows, in the latest sign that support is falling away.

Fifty-five per cent of US respondents said they disapprove of it, up from 45 per cent in November, as indicated by a poll released by Gallup.

Only 36 per cent of Americans support Israel's actions, according to the Gallup findings, down from 50 per cent in November. Nine per cent have no opinion, it added.

The findings highlight the growing opposition for Israel's war in Gaza among the US public.

The poll was completed before the UN Security Council passed a resolution on Monday calling for an immediate ceasefire for Ramadan, which ends in two weeks.

Washington abstained from the vote in a move which angered Israeli officials and prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel a trip to the White House. This signalled growing frustration in US President Joe Biden's administration over Israel's commitment to invading Gaza's southern city of Rafah.

The UN has repeatedly warned that an Israeli offensive on the city, where more than a million displaced Palestinians have sought shelter, would lead to catastrophe.

The poll follows a recent one in February which found declining support for both Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which governs in the occupied West Bank.

Support for Israel is declining across the US political spectrum, Gallup found.

Republican support for Israel's actions in Gaza dropped from 71 per cent in November to 64 per cent in March, while Democrat support dropped from 36 per cent to 18 per cent.

More people are now “closely” following media coverage of the war, according to the survey.

About 72 per cent of people say they closely follow news of the war in Gaza, while one third are following the situation “very closely”.

The war is also affecting public support for Mr Biden, who is running for re-election in November.

The approval rating for his handling of the situation in the Middle East is at 27 per cent, his lowest among five issues tested in the Gallup survey.

“Democrats’ widespread opposition to Israel’s actions underscores the difficulty of the issue for President Joe Biden among his most loyal supporters,” it said, while nothing the issue has not seemingly affected wider perception of the President, whose approval rating stands at 40 per cent, compared to 37 per cent in October.

About 32,500 Palestinians have been killed and 74,899 injured across Gaza since the Israeli war began on October 7, health authorities in the enclave said.