US Opinion Swings More Decisively Against Israel's Operations in Gaza
Voters, lawmakers -- even the Biden administration -- turning against Israeli actions
Some six weeks after the current hostilities began, US opinion of Israel’s retaliation for the brutal October 7 Hamas attacks has turned much more decisively negative.
American voters, prominent lawmakers — even the Biden administration — have begun turning away from Israeli operations in Gaza.
More than 13,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed in Gaza since Israeli bombardment began on October 7. In Israel, the official death toll in Hamas's attacks stands at about 1,400, according to reported estimates.
Although much of the American people — and the Biden administration itself — stood steadfastly with Israel following October 7, it's clear that the widely disproportionate civilian deaths at the hands of the Israeli Defense Forces is changing the picture.
Israel’s operations in Gaza should not go forward until civilians are accounted for in their military planning, according to Jonathan Finer, deputy White House national security adviser.
“So, in the event that we believe that Israel is likely to embark on combat operations —including in the south — we believe both that they have the right to do that, but that there is a real concern because hundreds of thousands of residents of Gaza have fled now from the north to the south at Israel's request, and we think that their operations should not go forward until those people, those additional civilians, have been accounted for in their military planning,” Finer said Sunday during an on-camera interview with the CBS News program, Face The Nation. “And so we will be conveying that directly to them and have been conveying that directly to them.
“They should draw lessons from how the operation proceeded in the north, including lessons that lead to greater and enhanced protections for civilian life, things like narrowing the area of active combat, clarifying where civilians can seek refuge from the fighting,” he added. “But I will also reiterate that Hamas takes no such precautions, in fact, openly and wantonly flouts and almost brags about its desire to perpetrate war crimes.”
Sen Chris Van Hollen (D-Md) echoed that view.
“How Israel conducts this operation is important. And so many of us were concerned, just a few weeks ago, when one of the White House National Security spokespersons was asked if the United States has any red lines, and the answer was ‘No,’ which means anything goes,” Van Hollen said. “And that cannot be consistent with American interests and American values. So, that's why we're asking these questions.”
Finally, American voters — especially the younger voters who might prove pivotal for President Biden’s reelection next year — are squarely opposed to his handling of the conflict, in which Biden began by literally publicly hugging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"Overall, this is the handling of the Israel-Hamas war. And again, it kind of measures overall with Biden's foreign policy approval, but look at this: Among the oldest group of voters, 65+, there's a majority who approve of how Biden's handling this. That's plus 12,” said Steve Kornacki, of NBC News, reporting new public opinion polling data. “Look at the youngest group of voters: 20 percent approve, 70 percent disapprove. He is 50 points underwater with the youngest group of voters. That is a 62-point net swing between youngest and oldest on this topic of Israel-Hamas.”
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