A sizable majority of Americans say that Hamas has “a lot” of responsibility for the current war (65%). Far smaller shares say the Israeli government (35%) – or the Palestinian people (20%) or Israeli people (13%) – have a lot of responsibility.

Bar chart showing majorities of Republicans and Democrats say Hamas has ‘a lot’ of responsibility for current war with Israel; greater divisions over Israeli government’s role

Large majorities of both Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (73%) and Democrats and Democratic leaners (62%) say that Hamas has a lot of responsibility for the conflict.

Only very small shares in either partisan coalition say Hamas has no responsibility for the conflict.

Democrats are much more likely than Republicans to say the Israeli government has a lot of responsibility: 50% vs. 21%, respectively. And while 27% of Republicans say the Israeli government has no responsibility, just 6% of Democrats say this.

There are also wide partisan differences when it comes to Palestinian people.

Roughly three-in-ten Republicans say that Palestinian people have a lot of responsibility for the current war, while just 12% of Democrats say the same. Relatively small shares of Republicans and Democrats say Israeli people have a lot of responsibility for the current conflict. But Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say Israeli people have no responsibility: 39% vs. 25%, respectively.

Age divides in views of Israel-Hamas War

Bar charts showing young adults in both partisan coalitions are less likely than older people to say Hamas has ‘a lot’ of responsibility for the current war
  • Overall, younger Americans are less likely than older Americans to say Hamas has “a lot” of responsibility for the conflict. While nearly half of those under 30 say this (46%), about eight-in-ten of those 65 and older place a lot of blame on Hamas. Still, only very small shares of Americans – across all age groups – say Hamas has no responsibility for the war.
  • In both parties, young adults are less likely than older people to place a lot of responsibility on Hamas for the current conflict. Roughly four-in-ten Democrats ages 18 to 29 (44%) – and about half of Republicans under 30 (52%) – say Hamas has a lot of responsibility. That compares with sizable majorities of older Democrats and Republicans.
  • There are smaller age differences in opinions about the Israeli government: About four-in-ten of those under 30 (42%) say the Israeli government has a lot of responsibility, while 28% of those 65 and older say the same.

Views of Israel’s approach to the war by party, ideology

Bar chart showing Democrats far more likely than Republicans to say Israel is ‘going too far’ in current military operation

Americans are divided on Israel’s approach to the conflict.

While 27% say Israel is “going too far” in its current military operation against Hamas, a similar share say they are taking the right approach. A smaller share (16%) say Israel is “not going far enough”; nearly a third say they aren’t sure about Israel’s approach.

There are sizable differences  between – and among – partisans on this issue.

Overall, Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to say that Israel is going too far (45% vs. 12%, respectively). Liberal Democrats, in particular, view Israel’s response as excessive: 61% say Israel is going too far, compared with 31% of conservative and moderate Democrats.

Most Republicans say either that Israel is taking the right approach (34%) or that it is not going far enough (25%); just 12% say it is going too far. About a third of conservative Republicans say Israel it not going far enough – twice the share of moderate and liberal Republicans (16%).

How younger and older Americans view Israel’s military operation against Hamas

Younger Americans are more likely than older adults to say that Israel’s current military operation against Hamas is going too far: 38% of adults under 35 say this, compared with smaller shares of those 35 to 49 (27%), 50 to 64 (23%) and 65 and older (16%).

This dynamic is particularly pronounced among Democrats. About half of Democrats under 35 say Israel is going too far in its current military operation against Hamas (56%). This compares with smaller shares of Democrats ages 35 and older.

Bar charts showing younger adults – particularly young Democrats – are most likely to say Israel is going too far in their military operation against Hamas

While just 17% of Republicans under 35 say Israel is going too far, this is a substantially higher share than among older Republicans (only 2% of those 65 and older say this). Nearly half of younger Republicans (48%) say they are not sure about Israel’s approach to the current conflict.

Older adults more likely to say they are closely following news about the war

Bar charts showing older U.S. adults more likely to say they have been following news about the Israel-Hamas war closely

About a quarter of Americans say they have been following news about the Israel-Hamas war extremely or very closely (26%). Nearly four-in-ten have been following news somewhat closely (37%), and 36% say they have followed not too or not at all closely.

Roughly one-in-five adults ages 18 to 29 (17%) report following news about the war extremely or very closely; a similar share of those 30 to 49 (19%) say the same.

This compares with 30% of those 50 to 64 and 41% of those 65 or older.

Republicans and Democrats report similar levels of attention to news about the war: 29% of Republicans say they are following extremely or very closely, compared with 25% of Democrats. In both parties, larger shares of older people than younger adults say they are following news about the Israel-Hamas war extremely or very closely.