Most Americans, according to the poll, believe Israel’s conduct in Gaza has been excessive [Getty]
A 58 percent majority of Americans believe that every country in the United Nations should recognise Palestine as a nation, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, as Israel and Hamas considered a possible truce in the nearly two-year-long war.
Some 33 percent of respondents did not agree that U.N. members should recognise a Palestinian state and 9 percent did not answer.
The six-day poll, which closed on Monday, was taken within weeks of three countries, close U.S. allies Canada, Britain and France, announcing they intend to recognise the State of Palestine. This ratcheted up pressure on Israel as starvation spreads in Gaza.
The survey was taken amid hopes that Israel and Hamas would agree on a ceasefire to provide a break in the fighting, free some captives and ease shipments of humanitarian assistance.
Two officials said on Tuesday Israel was studying Hamas’ response to a potential deal for a 60-day truce and the release of half the Israeli captives still held in Gaza.
Britain, Canada, Australia and several of their European allies said last week that the humanitarian crisis in the war-torn Palestinian enclave has reached “unimaginable levels,” as aid groups warned that Gazans are on the verge of famine.
The United Nations human rights office said on Tuesday Israel was not letting enough supplies into the Gaza Strip to avert widespread starvation. Israel has denied responsibility for hunger in Gaza, accusing Hamas of stealing aid shipments, which the Palestinian group denies.
A larger majority of the Reuters/Ipsos poll respondents, 65 percent, said the U.S. should take action in Gaza to help people facing starvation, with 28 percent disagreeing. The number disagreeing included 41 percent of President Donald Trump’s Republicans.
Trump and many of his fellow Republicans take an “America First” approach to international relations, backing steep cuts to the country’s international food and medical assistance programs in the belief that U.S. funds should assist Americans, not those outside its borders.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll also showed that 59 percent of Americans believe that Israel’s military response in Gaza has been excessive. Thirty-three percent of respondents disagreed.
Israel says its war in Gaza is in response to Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attack which killed around 1,200 people, and saw 251 taken captive, most of them now released or dead.
Hamas says the attack was in response to Israel’s decades-long siege of Gaza and occupation of Palestinian lands.
But Israel’s offensive has killed more than 62,000 people in Gaza since – most of them civilians according to the territory’s health ministry. The number includes more than 2,000 killed seeking aid, and more than 200 dying of hunger related causes.
Several rights groups and countries have labelled Israel’s war a genocide.
