Support is high among all political stripes of Americans, but the poll did not ask where they’d like the refugees to be settled.
A new poll says that a large majority of Americans want the US government to help citizens in Gaza flee the violence in the territory.
The poll closed as Israel continued to prepare a large ground invasion in Gaza targeted at Hamas. The country has been bombing Gaza since an October 7 surprise attack by Hamas killed 1,400 people and captured 199 more, according to Israeli authorities. The response by Israel has killed over 2,808 people in Palestine, the majority being citizens, according to Palestinian authorities.
The poll indicated 78% of respondents agreed with the statement, “American diplomats should actively be working on a plan to allow civilians fleeing fighting in Gaza to move to a safe country,” while 22% disagreed.
The support was seen across all political spectrums but was most pronounced among Democrats, with 94% of Democratic respondents saying they supported the statement compared to 71% and 73% for Republicans and Independents, respectively.
Support for Israel in general remains high among Americans, with 41% saying the US government should support Israel in the conflict. However, more Americans believe the US should act as a neutral mediator or not be involved at all. Combined, those two neutral options were supported by 48% of respondents (27% for neutral mediator, 21% for no involvement).
Only 2% said they believe the US government should support Palestine and the support for Israel is higher than in 2014, when the country conducted a ground operation against Hamas in a smaller scale operation.
While support for helping refugees fleeing the violence is predictably high, there are questions about its viability. No neighboring country or other third-party country has committed to taking in large numbers of refugees. The Rafah crossing into Egypt from Gaza remains closed despite ongoing negotiations and Israel has closed all other routes out of the territory.
Israel has told citizens to move towards the southern area of the country ahead of the ground invasion.
Furthermore, Hamas has told civilians to stay in their homes and some fear a repeat of the 1948 Nakba or “catastrophe” in Arabic. That event, which coincided with the formation of Israel, saw at least 750,000 Palestinians being displaced from their homes and expelled from the borders of Palestine. They were never allowed to return and construction was later undertaken to establish new homes for Israelis.
