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Americans Still Sympathize With Israelis Over Palestinians, but Not by Much, Poll Finds
People walk at a square where Israeli flags are displayed, amid the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 16, 2024. Photo: Reuters/Ricardo Moraes
After 22 months of war in Gaza, Americans continue to sympathize more with Israelis than the Palestinians, according to a new poll.
However, the latest Economist/YouGov poll, which surveyed 1,702 US adult citizens from Aug. 1-4, also found there has been a noticeable shift in public opinion toward the Palestinians, particularly among younger and left-leaning voters.
According to the survey, 29 percent of respondents said their sympathies lie more with Israel, compared to 26 percent who sympathize more with the Palestinians. A substantial 44 percent say they are either unsure or sympathetic to both sides equally.
This represents a notable gain for the Palestinian side. In June, for example, 31 percent of Americans said they sympathized more with the Israelis, while just 21 percent said the same for the Palestinians.
The uptick comes as global attention remains focused on Gaza, where humanitarian agencies have described worsening conditions amid the ongoing conflict.
The new survey highlights a stark political divide: 57 percent of voters who supported US President Donald Trump, a Republican, in the 2024 election said they sympathize with Israel, while just 10 percent said the same for Palestinians.
As for those who voted for 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, just 11 percent responded that they sympathize more with Israel, compared to 45 percent who said the same of the Palestinians.
Ideologically, conservatives’ sympathies side overwhelmingly with Israel (58 percent) over the Palestinians (7 percent), while liberals now favor Palestinians by a margin of 55 percent to 9 percent,
As for political affiliation, Republicans overwhelmingly sympathize more with Israels than Palestinians (56 percent compared to 5 percent), and Democrats’ sympathies fall in the exact opposite direction in favor of the Palestinians (43 percent compared to 9 percent), seemingly upending the traditional bipartisan consensus that long favored Israel.
For all these comparisons, the remaining respondents selected either equal sympathy for both sides or they weren’t sure.
Americans are also divided over whether Israel’s military campaign in Gaza is still justified, according to the poll. While 32 percent of total respondents believe Israel is justified in its conduct, 41 percent say it is not. The remaining 27 percent are unsure.
Support for increased US military aid to Israel remains limited, with just 13 percent in favor and 42 percent advocating less aid. Another 26 percent support maintaining the same level of aid.
Meanwhile, 38 percent of Americans said they want increased humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, whole 18 percent want less and 24 percent support maintaining the same amount.
On the question of a Gaza ceasefire, 61 percent of respondents “strongly support” a truce to the Israel-Hamas war, with another 17 percent “somewhat” supporting it. This included the vast majority of both Republicans and Democrats.
The poll also asked whether respondents approve of Trump’s support for Israel. Thirty-two percent approve of his stance, while 7 percent want to see more support for the Jewish state and 36 percent hpe to less.
A near-majority of Americans, 49 percent, said the Palestinians should have their own state, compared to 17 percent who said they oppose the proposition and 34 percent who “don’t know.” A strong majority of Democrats indicated support for a Palestinian state, while Republicans expressed wariness about the prospect.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.