Most in new poll want US to help Gaza civilians get out of harm’s way

International News | The Hill

Most Americans in a new poll said they want the U.S. to help civilians in Gaza get out of harm’s way as Israel prepares for a major counteroffensive into the territory in retaliation for militant group Hamas’s surprise attack last week.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll found 78 percent of participants said they agreed that “American diplomats should actively be working on a plan to allow civilians fleeing fighting in Gaza to move to a safe country.” Meanwhile, 22 percent of people disagreed with the statement.

The majority support was seen across party lines, though Democrats showed the strongest support for the statement, with 94 percent backing U.S. efforts to get Gaza civilians out of harm’s way. About 71 percent of Republicans and 73 percent of independents said they support those efforts.

Israel ordered people in Gaza to travel to the southern half of the territory last week in an announcement widely seen as anticipating a ground assault. Hamas, which launched the attacks on Israel last week, controls Gaza.

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas, which is recognized as a terrorist group by the U.S. and a number of other governments. Its attacks on Israel last week killed 1,400 people, including hundreds of civilians in their homes, at a bus stop and at a music festival. Israel claims 199 people have been taken hostage by Hamas.

Israel has responded with a bombardment of Gaza that Palestinian authorities say has killed 2,808 people so far, according to The New York Times.

The air strikes have forced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians out of their homes and into shelters where supplies are already running very low due to Israel’s siege that cut off food, water and electricity to the region.

Many people in Gaza lack the ability to travel south, and Hamas has told residents not to leave and to stay in their homes.

Reuters reported support among Americans for Israel’s position in the conflict is higher than in 2014, when Israeli ground forces launched a military operation against several targets associated with Hamas and other militant groups.

A total of 41 percent of participants said the U.S. should support Israel, while 27 percent said the U.S. should be a neutral mediator and 21 percent said the U.S. should not be involved at all. Only 2 percent said the U.S. should support the Palestinians, while 10 percent said none of the above options.

Reuters said its poll with Ipsos in 2014 showed 22 percent said the U.S. should support Israel.

The support for Israel in the latest poll was strongest among Republicans, with 54 percent saying they back the U.S.’s support of Israel, compared to 37 percent of Democrats and 34 percent of independents.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll, later shared with The Hill, was conducted nationwide among 1,003 U.S. adults. The poll had a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points for all respondents.