Over half of the poll’s respondents (57 percent) disapprove of Biden’s handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to a new poll by The New York Times and Siena College released on Tuesday.
Only 38 percent say they trust Biden to do a better job managing the crisis than ex-President Donald Trump.
Young voters between the ages of 18 and 29 are the most critical of the president’s policies in the region, with nearly three-quarters critical of his handling of the conflict in Gaza.
US President Joe Biden and his administration have so far turned down calls from rights groups, Palestinians, and 120 UN member states calling for Israel to agree to a ceasefire. There is also dissent growing within the Biden administration itself, with multiple dissent cables showing that many Biden administration staffers are in favour of a ceasefire.
The new poll comes more than two months after Hamas and armed Palestinian groups launched an attack on Israel on 7 October, which killed around 1,200 Israelis, according to the official tally from the Israeli government.
Israel’s response, which has included a weekslong aerial bombardment campaign followed by a ground incursion into Gaza, has killed more than 19,500 Palestinians, 70 percent of whom are women and children.
Israel’s military has targeted residential infrastructure, including hospitals and neighbourhoods, and it is currently conducting a raid on Gaza’s largest hospital, al-Shifa, Thousands of Palestinians have been seeking shelter from Israeli bombs at the medical complex.
