Vast majority of Americans sympathize with Israel after Hamas attack, new CNN poll reveals

A solid majority of 71% of the American public feel a high level of sympathy toward the Jewish state following the Hamas massacre of more than 1,000 Israeli civilians, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS.

A whopping 96% of Americans responded that they feel some degree of sympathy for Israel.

The poll also indicated that many post-9/11 American citizens can relate to Israel’s military response to terrorism.

Some 50% of Americans stated that Israel’s military response in the Gaza Strip is completely justified, according to the poll, while 20% of the U.S. public believes an Israeli military response is partially legitimate.

A mere 8% of the respondents reportedly believe that Israel’s military response is unjustified.

The remaining 21% of the Americans are unsure regarding their position in the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel.

The CNN poll indicated that 84% of Americans express some sympathy toward both Israelis and Gazans in the conflict.

While the majority of the American respondents support Israel’s right to defend itself, some 87% of Americans have some sympathy for Palestinians caught in the crossfire between Hamas and Israel.

However, less than half of the public, 41%, expressed strong sympathy for the Gazan civilian population.

Not surprisingly, the poll revealed that U.S. opinions on Israel and the Hamas conflict differ significantly depending on one's political affiliations.

Almost 7 in 10 Republicans (68%) back Israel’s military response against Hamas in Gaza.

By contrast, only 38% of the Democrats surveyed support the Israeli military operation against Hamas.

Independents fall somewhere in the middle, with 45% supporting Israel’s military response in the Gaza Strip.

The CNN survey further revealed that opinions on Israel differed substantially across different age groups.

The majority of Americans aged 65 or above, about 81%, view the Israeli military response as at least partially justified.

This support for Israel’s military response dropped to 56% among people aged 50-64 and 44% among Americans aged 35-49.

Among young people, ages 18-34, only 27% partially support the Israeli military response.

The CNN survey revealed that less than half of the American population, 47%, express some amount of trust in U.S. President Joe Biden’s of the Hamas-Israel conflict.

While the number is quite low, it is nevertheless higher than Biden’s 42% approval rating of how he is handling the Russia-Ukraine war.

Biden has expressed verbal and active support for Israel during its conflict with Hamas.

During a recent interview with the CBS program 60 Minutes, Biden said the Jewish state should eliminate the Hamas terror group.

However, the American president stressed that it would be a bad idea for Israel to permanently reoccupy the Gaza Strip.

Instead, Biden stressed the need to preserve the two-state solution formula as a long-term political solution to the conflict.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan responded to the U.S. president’s 60 Minutes interview, saying that the Jewish state has no interest in occupying the Gaza Strip and its more than two million residents.

Erdan thanked Biden and his administration for their support and emphasized that Israel’s goal was to eliminate Hamas as a military and political power.