AP-NORC Poll Finds One-Third of U.S. Adults Say Israel Committed Genocide in Gaza

A new AP-NORC poll finds that about one-third of U.S. adults believe Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians during the war in Gaza, with the survey arriving nearly three years after the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas that left 1,200 people dead in Israel and 251 hostages taken back to Gaza.

“In Gaza, the week marked 1,000 days since Israel’s genocidal war began”

Al Jazeera

The poll also reports that about 2 in 10 Americans say Israel has not committed genocide, while the rest, about half, say they do not know enough to say, and it notes Israel has rejected allegations of genocide or other war crimes in its campaign against Hamas.

Al Jazeera

Harold Kalmus, a 69-year-old Democrat from Arden, Delaware, said of Israel’s military action, “They’re trying to wipe out a civilization as far as I’m concerned.”

The Times of Israel reports that Israel insists it fights in accordance with international law and has pointed to evacuation warnings sent in advance of airstrikes and efforts to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid.

The same poll frames the issue as polarizing Americans along partisan and generational lines, with the relationship between the two countries remaining tense just four months before high-stakes midterm elections for President Donald Trump’s final two years in office.

The AP-NORC results show a decisive shift within the Democratic Party, with about 58% of Democrats saying the U.S. is “too supportive” of the Israelis, up from 45% in an AP-NORC poll from January 2024 when former President Joe Biden was in office.

The poll also reports that roughly 6 in 10 Democrats, 62%, say the U.S. is “not supportive enough” of the Palestinians, up from 49% in 2024, and it says older Democrats are catching up to younger Democrats on that view.

AP News

In the same reporting, the Times of Israel says many Americans, about 4 in 10, don’t know enough to say whether Israel’s immediate military response to Hamas’ attack or its ongoing military operations were justified.

Among those who did have an opinion, the AP-NORC poll says most say the initial retaliation was justified but a majority think its current actions are not, and it adds that about three-quarters of Jewish adults said Israel’s initial response was justified while only about 4 in 10 believe that about its ongoing operations.

The Times of Israel quotes the poll’s framing of Israel’s position, saying Israel has rejected allegations of genocide or other war crimes in its campaign against Hamas, while it has noted evacuation warnings and humanitarian-aid efforts.

In Gaza, Al Jazeera reports that Gaza’s Government Media Office said that more than 90 percent of the Strip had been destroyed, and it says that by July 6 Gaza’s Ministry of Health put the toll since the October “ceasefire” at 1,072 killed and the cumulative figure since October 2023 at 73,098.

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Common Dreams

Al Jazeera says Israeli forces killed at least three Palestinians in a drone strike near al-Hilu station on July 1 and at least seven more over the following 48 hours, including a child killed by a quadcopter-dropped bomb at the Shujayea junction and 10-year-old Tareq Sabah killed near Khan Younis.

The same report describes protests outside Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital demanding that Israel lift travel restrictions on medical evacuations, with Gaza health authorities saying more than 20,000 people are awaiting exit through a throttled Rafah crossing.

Al Jazeera also reports that signals of a formal transfer of authority began in Gaza, with representatives of the US-led Board of Peace meeting in the Cypriot resort of Ayia Napa to advance the “temporary reconstruction” of Gaza zones designated free of Hamas control.

It adds that Gaza’s Hamas-run government announced its resignation and the transfer of its authority to a Board of Peace-appointed technocratic committee under US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war and oversee reconstruction, while Ali Shath said his committee stood ready to assume responsibilities “as soon as the necessary capabilities and enablers are available”.