Harvard Caps Harris
June 28-30 2024
5 Key Takeaways
2-Minute Video Summary
On average, American voters still overwhelmingly favor Israel over Hamas. Support for Israel (80%) over Hamas (20%) hasn't wavered since this question was asked shortly after the war broke out. We're also seeing an improvement in this sense amongst youngsters, although 40% of 18-24 year olds still support the terrorist organization.
Most Americans believe Israel is trying to avoid civilian casualties, but not as many as last month. A drop from 69% to 62% from last month is concerning, but not surprising in light of the optics of what's happening on the ground in Gaza as the war continues.
Two thirds of Americans favor a ceasefire that's conditional on the return of all hostages and Hamas being removed from power, and 82% (up from 78% in May) believe Hamas should be removed from Gaza. Those who follow the war closely feel more strongly about the ceasefire not being unconditional. This indicates that a deeper understanding and interest in the war leads to greater recognition for Hamas' role in the potential to end the war.
More Americans now feel that neither Israel nor Hamas should administer Gaza when the war is over. 40% (up from 32% in May) think some new authority set up with Arab nations should be in charge of Gaza after war, 32% (down from 39% last month) think it should be Israel and 27% (down 2% from last month) think it should be the Palestinian Authority. Gen Z'ers are split pretty much down the middle between these three options, without a clear preference.
Two thirds of Americans think Israel should retaliate if Hezbollah continues to fire rockets into Israel. Gen Z and Millennials (voters up to the age of 40) - while they favor retaliation by Israel - feel less strongly about it (53-54% say Israel should retaliate, 47-46% say it shouldn't) than the older generations.