Roughly 2/3 of Americans want U.S. to publicly support Israel: poll

As Israel mounts counterstrikes on the Gaza Strip in preparation for a possible land invasion of the territory, the American public largely wants Washington to stand by Jerusalem amid the conflict, according to a recent survey.

Hamas terrorists on Saturday stormed out of the Gaza Strip and overran Israeli border towns, seizing hostages and inflicting civilian casualties. The Israel Defense Forces have spent the past week shelling the territory.

65% of U.S. adults said the country should "publicly support" Israel in a a recent NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey. A further 23% said the U.S. should "say or do nothing" while 8% wanted Washington to "publicly criticize" the country. Three percent were unsure.

Americans overwhelmingly fear that the ongoing hostilities could expand and lead to a wider middle eastern war. 79% of respondents were either "concerned" or "very concerned" about that prospect. 70% said they were either "closely" or "very closely" following the war.

The nation was more divided on Israel's response to the Hamas attack, with 44% deeming Jerusalem's handling of the situation "appropriate" compared to 26% who said the country did too much and 27% saying it had done too little.

The Biden Administration has thus far expressed support for Israel and taken steps to bolster security in the region. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean Sea to that end.

Conducted Oct. 11, the survey questioned 1,313 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of +/- 3.8%.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.