WASHINGTON: A 58 percent majority of Americans believe that every country in the United Nations should recognize 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 UN members should recognize 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 US allies Canada, Britain and France, announcing they intend to recognize 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 hostages 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 hostages 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 Hamas denies.
A larger majority of the Reuters/Ipsos poll respondents, 65 percent, said the US 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 US funds should assist Americans, not those outside its borders.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led fighters stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israel’s offensive has since killed more than 62,000 Palestinians, plunged Gaza into humanitarian crisis and displaced most of its population, according to Gaza health authorities.
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.
In a similar Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in February 2024, 53 percent of respondents agreed that Israel’s response had been excessive, and 42 percent disagreed.
The latest Reuters/Ipsos survey, conducted online, gathered responses from 4,446 US adults nationwide and had a margin of error of about 2 percentage points.