A new Harvard/Harris survey conducted in August found that while most Americans believe Gaza is experiencing a famine, the majority place the blame on Hamas. The poll comes as reports of worsening conditions in Gaza continue to dominate headlines across the United States.
According to the findings, 69% of respondents accepted claims that a famine exists in Gaza. Among them, 78% of Democrats said they believed the reports, compared to 65% of Republicans and Independents who agreed.
When asked who was at fault for the famine, 61% of participants pointed to Hamas. Democrats were split on the issue, while a significant 74% of Republicans and 60% of Independents said the terror group was primarily responsible.
The generational divide was also notable. A slim majority of younger respondents placed the blame on Israel, but those over the age of 25 overwhelmingly said Hamas was responsible for the crisis.
Opinions were also divided on whether criticism of Israel during the war stems more from antisemitism or from genuine concern for Palestinian civilians, showing deep polarization on the issue.
The same split was seen regarding accusations of genocide. Americans were evenly divided over whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, with younger voters and Democrats more likely to accept the claim.
Despite these divisions, 60% of respondents said they support the U.S. providing both offensive and defensive military aid to Israel.
The poll also revealed a sharp generational difference in attitudes toward Hamas. Among Americans aged 18 to 24, 60% sided with Hamas over Israel. Past surveys from the same pollster have reflected similar results within this age group. By contrast, all other demographic groups expressed greater support for Israel. Overall, U.S. backing for Israel dropped three points compared to July’s results.
Across all respondents, 26% said they favored Hamas over Israel.
Additionally, 58% of Americans said Israel should only agree to a hostage-release deal if Hamas withdraws completely from Gaza, reflecting widespread skepticism of any compromise with the terror group.
The Harvard/Harris poll, released on Monday, surveyed 2,025 registered voters on August 20–21 and carries a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points. It was conducted by Harvard University’s Center for American Political Studies in collaboration with The Harris Poll.
In a separate poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University, 37% of Americans said they sympathized more with Palestinians, while 36% aligned with Israel. This marked the highest level of U.S. sympathy for Palestinians and the lowest for Israel since Quinnipiac began asking this question in 2001.
The Quinnipiac findings also showed that 60% of respondents opposed additional U.S. military aid to Israel for the ongoing war against Hamas, while 32% supported it. Unlike the Harvard/Harris survey, Quinnipiac specifically asked about aid tied directly to fighting Hamas, whereas the Harvard/Harris poll addressed military assistance more broadly.
Quinnipiac’s data further revealed that half of Americans believe Israel is committing genocide, while 35% disagreed and the remainder were unsure or declined to answer.
Among Democrats, 77% said they believe Israel is guilty of genocide, compared to just 20% of Republicans.
The Quinnipiac survey included 1,220 registered voters and was conducted between August 21 and 25, with a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.
{Matzav.com}
My son, who knows Arabic, sometimes checks out Aljezeera news in both Arabic and English. He says to the English-speaking world, they show the Gazans as pathetic, suffering victims.
But to the Arabic-speaking world, they show them as strong, confident, looking good, and managing well.
I also saw clips from Gazan vloggers with spiffy gelled haircuts and what looked like new clean smooth clothes and the white or off-white parts looked clean and pristine.
It’s all Pallywood.