The US leader's approval ratings in Israel have declined since the October 7 Hamas attack, a new survey finds.
63% of Israelis support US leadership, according to new survey Conducted by Gallupwhile still higher than at other points in the past 20 years, is down from a year ago.
After President Biden visited Israel in mid-October, shortly after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing more than 1,100 people and taking about 200 hostages, the US leadership's approval rating declined. This rose to an all-time high of 81%.
Since then, approval ratings have fallen by 18 points as Israel continues its multi-front war with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The killing of tens of thousands of people in the Gaza Strip has sparked considerable criticism of the Israeli government in the United States and has become a political issue for Mr. Biden.
On Tuesday, Iran fired missiles at Israel in response to Israel's killing of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders. Both extremists, recognized as terrorist groups by the US government, have ties to Iran.
Israel has vowed to counter the attack.
Almost exactly a year after the conflict in the Middle East began, the escalation has raised concerns that an all-out war could break out in the region.
The United States is Israel's strongest ally and has provided military support since last year. While Mr. Biden has maintained that Israel has the right to defend itself, over time he has grown increasingly frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and called for further steps toward a ceasefire.
The survey found that while many Americans and people around the world are angry about Netanyahu's military power, Israelis are also losing faith in their government. In 2023, 44 percent of Israelis had confidence in Prime Minister Netanyahu. Only 40% of people are confident today.
The survey was conducted between July 7th and August 16th among 1,001 adults living in Israel. The margin of error is 3.4 percentage points. Gallup noted that the sample did not include areas of East Jerusalem, and no dangerous or displaced areas were included in the study.
