Poll finds many Americans accept Gaza famine label, reveals generational division over Israel support

A recent poll by Harvard University’s Center for American Political Studies and The Harris Poll found that a majority of the respondents believe that famine conditions exist in the Gaza Strip following the recent UN Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, but most also believe that Hamas is responsible for those conditions. 

The poll, conducted during August, found that 69% of respondents believed famine reports are accurate, with Democrats more likely than Republicans or Independents to accept those reports. 

Regarding an opinion on who is responsible for the famine conditions, the poll found a similar breakdown, with 61% of all respondents blaming Hamas, Republicans (74%) and Independents (60%) more likely to blame Hamas, and with Democrats split between blaming Hamas or Israel largely along age lines. Democrats between the ages of 18-24 were more likely to blame famine conditions on Israel than the Hamas terror group.

The poll also found age to be a strong predictor of alignment in the conflict. Overall, 74% of respondents said they support Israel over Hamas. However, among those aged 18–24, a majority expressed support for Hamas, while among those aged 25 and older, at least 60% in each group supported Israel.

However, the poll found that a majority of respondents, regardless of age group, believe Hamas “must release all remaining hostages without any conditions or face serious consequences,” and 78% of respondents agreed with that statement. 

More than one-half of those polled (58%) believe Israel should only sign a hostage-ceasefire deal if Hamas agrees to withdraw from Gaza. 

The study, which also measured public satisfaction with the U.S. government, asked whether respondents believed President Donald Trump would be able to resolve the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. A majority expressed doubt: 59% said they do not believe he can resolve the war in Ukraine, and 64% said the same about the conflict in Gaza.

The results were more closely split regarding Trump’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, with 53% of respondents supporting his handling of the conflict and 47% opposing it. 

Respondents were almost evenly split regarding support for Israel’s conduct during the war.

Of those polled, 49% said they approve of Israel’s conduct, while 51% disapprove. However, 77% of respondents disapprove of Hamas’ conduct during the war, with a majority of all age groups disapproving. 

Support for U.S. military aid to Israel remains relatively strong, with 57% backing offensive aid and 60% backing defensive aid. The only group with majority opposition to offensive aid was respondents aged 18-24.