Americans believe Israel has gone too far in Gaza conflict

September 19, 2025 00:00:00

Displaced Palestinians move with their belongings southwards on a road in the Nuseirat refugee camp area in the central Gaza Strip following renewed Israeli evacuation orders for Gaza City on Thursday. — AFP

NEW YORK, Sept 18 (AP): A growing number of Americans now say Israel's military campaign in Gaza has "gone too far," according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The survey found that about half of U.S. adults view Israel's actions in Gaza as excessive, up from 40per cent in November 2023, shortly after Hamas launched its October 7 assault on Israel that killed around 1,200 people and led to 251 hostages being taken.

The shift in opinion comes as Israel pushes deeper into Gaza City, facing international condemnation and U.N. experts' findings that its actions amount to genocide. Gaza's Health Ministry says more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, with vast destruction, famine and mass displacement across the enclave.

The poll revealed bipartisan concern. Nearly 70per cent of Democrats now believe Israel has overstepped, compared with 58per cent in November. Among independents, about half share that view, while Republican concern has risen slightly to 24per cent.

At the same time, fewer Americans see negotiating a permanent ceasefire as a top U.S. priority. About half of respondents rated it as "extremely" or "very" important, down from 59per cent in March, largely due to declining Republican support. Approval of President Donald Trump's handling of the conflict has also slipped to 37per cent, from 44per cent earlier this year.

Spain will probe 'rights

violations in Gaza'

Spain will probe "human rights violations in Gaza" to assist the International Criminal Court, which has sought arrest warrants for Israeli officials over alleged war crimes, the attorney general said Thursday.

Spain's top prosecutor, Alvaro Garcia Ortiz, has "issued a decree to create a working team tasked with investigating violations of international human rights law in Gaza", the attorney general's office said in a statement.

The investigative team's mission will be to "gather evidence and make it available to the competent body, thereby fulfilling Spain's obligations regarding international cooperation and human rights", it said.