According to a new survey from Gallup, just 36 percent now approve of Israeli military action in Gaza, down from 5o percent in November. Disapproval has surged to 55 percent — up 10 points from November — while nine percent say they have no opinion on the matter. This change in sentiment spans across the political spectrum in the United States, indicating a broad reassessment of Israel's military strategy in Gaza. “All three major party groups in the U.S. have become less supportive of Israel’s actions in Gaza than they were in November,” with an 18-percentage-point drop in approval among both Democrats and Independents, and a seven-point decline among Republicans, Gallup said. This comes at a time when international backing for Israel wanes, with the U.S., traditionally a staunch ally, increasing diplomatic pressure for an end to hostilities. In a deviation from typical practices, the U.S. this week declined to step in and prevent the United Nations Security Council from taking action against Israel, abstaining from a vote demanding an immediate ceasefire. When similar measures came up for consideration in the past, the U.S. has consistently vetoed them. The Gallup poll was completed prior to Monday’s ceasefire resolution and reveals a correlation between the level of awareness about the conflict and public opinion. “Disapproval of Israel’s military action is similar regardless of how much attention Americans are paying to the conflict. However, those paying less attention are more likely than their counterparts to have no opinion on the matter, resulting in lower approval than seen among people paying greater attention,” Gallup said. Since the latest round of the conflict began last October, 32,226 Palestinians — about 70 percent of whom are women and children — have been killed, while 74,518 have been injured. Additionally, 80 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced, while the threat of mass famine looms due to Israeli officials’ policy of using hunger as a weapon against the civilian Palestinian population. Earlier this year, Israel faced two separate hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to address allegations of genocide and to explore legal consequences for maintaining its decades-long occupation of Palestinians. The ICJ ruled that Israel is plausibly committing genocide in its treatment of Palestinians and ordered Israel to “take all measures within its power” to cease acts that violate the Genocide Convention, to which it is a signatory. On March 28, the ICJ highlighted the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, attributing the risk of famine to Israel's stringent controls over humanitarian aid and the destruction of vital civilian infrastructure. It demanded Israel ensure the delivery of humanitarian relief to the Palestinian populace. “As the Israel-Hamas war drags on, U.S. support for its ally’s actions in the war is slipping,” Gallup said.As the six-month mark since the onset of the recent hostilities in Gaza nears, a significant shift in American public opinion is evident as new polling shows dwindling support for Israel's military actions.
