Support for Israel drops as Gaza invasion rages on: poll

As the Israel Defense Forces continue their invasion of the Gaza Strip, public support in the United States for their cause has dropped amid mounting civilian casualties, a recent survey has revealed.

The latest round of hostilities erupted in the aftermath of an Oct. 7 Hamas raid that saw its forces storm Israeli border towns, seize more than 200 hostages, and kill about 1,200 civilians. The Israelis have since invaded the Gaza Strip in a bid to oust Hamas from power, though they have drawn considerable international scrutiny for their tactics, which have caused significant civilian casualties in the densely populated area.

In the latest Quinnipiac University survey, 45% of voters supported sending military aid to Jerusalem while 46% opposed doing so. In the November iteration of the survey, 54% backed aid to Israel while 39% opposed it. Voters were split decidedly by age group in the December survey, with those over 65 favoring aid by a 63% to 28% margin. By contrast, voters aged 18-34 opposed it 72% to 21%.

On the matter of Israel's tangible response, voters were near-evenly split, with 43% approving of the way Jerusalem responded to the Oct. 7 raid and 42% disapproving. In November, 46% approved and 40% disapproved.

"There are shifting sentiments as the human losses mount and the Biden administration leans on Israel to lessen the impact on Palestinian civilians. While voters make it clear they have a personal stake in supporting Israel, they are less enthusiastic about fortifying its close ally's arsenal," Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy said.

Conducted Dec. 14-18, the survey questioned 1,647 self-identified registered voters and has a margin of error of +/- 2.4%.

The month of December has seen intense disagreements between American and Israeli leadership spill over into the public sphere. President Joe Biden earlier this month warned that Israel's bombing of the strip threatened to erode international support for the country.

"Israel's security can rest on the United States, but right now it has more than the United States. It has the European Union, it has Europe, it has most of the world ... But they're starting to lose that support by indiscriminate bombing that takes place," Biden said.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, for his part, has publicly rejected American suggestions to hand control of the strip to the Palestinian Authority following the conflict, saying "[a]fter the great sacrifice of our civilians and our soldiers... I will not allow the entry into Gaza of those who educate for terrorism, support terrorism and finance terrorism."

The United Nations General Assembly this month overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the region.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.