Most Americans now disapprove of Israel’s war in Gaza, poll finds

Most Americans now disapprove of Israel’s war in Gaza, a new poll has found.

Some 55 per cent disapprove of Israel’s ongoing offensive in the besieged territory, while 36 per cent approve, according to the Gallup poll released on Wednesday.

It is the first time a poll has found that a majority of Americans do not support the war, a significant shift from when the same survey in November found most were in favour.

The survey comes nearly six months into Israel’s war, which has killed more than 32,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and brought Gaza to the brink of famine.

Israel has been accused by aid groups, and the British government, of deliberately blocking aid into Gaza by closing all but one crossing.

The lack of food entering the besieged strip has brought more than one million people close to catastrophic hunger levels, according to the World Health Organisation.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called it a “moral outrage” that Israel was blocking aid during a visit to the border last week.

Israel’s offensive was launched in response to a Hamas attack in southern Israel that killed 1,200 people. More than 200 people were kidnapped and taken back into Gaza.

The Gallup survey, which was conducted from March 1 — 20, found a drop in support for the war among all three major party groups. The biggest decline was found among Democrats and independents, which both saw an 18 per cent drop. There was also a seven-point decline among Republicans.

President Joe Biden’s approval rating for his handling of the situation in the Middle East sunk to its lowest ever, at 27 per cent.

US defense secretary Lloyd Austin said the civilian death toll in Gaza is “far too high” ahead of a meeting with his