Three-quarters of Americans want to maintain or strengthen U.S. support for Israel’s military actions against Iran’s proxies, even as the U.S. administration pushes a ceasefire, according to a survey released on Monday.
The polling comes as Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon, triggered by Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre, approaches its one-year mark.
Some 50% of Americans want to keep support for Israel’s military efforts against Iranian proxies at about the same level, while 25% each want to either increase or decrease the backing, according to the survey, commissioned by the non-partisan New York-based Council for a Secure America.
Fifty-four percent of Americans agree that Iran and its allies, including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen pose a direct threat to the United States and its Western allies, while 36% neither agree or disagree, and 10% disagree, the survey found.
At the same time, most Americans want to maintain the current level of U.S. military action against both Iran and its proxies, which has been primarily defensive, the poll found.
A total of 56% want to maintain U.S. military action at the same level, while 27% want to increase it and 17% want to decrease American military action.
Overall, 62% of Americans feel that the United States’ relationship with Israel is important, with the highest support being found among older Americans and the lowest among “Generation Z"; only 9% felt that the ties between the two countries are not important, the survey showed.
“As we approach the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre and the ensuing war with Iran’s proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, American support for Israel’s military actions remains strong,” said CSA executive director Jennifer Sutton. “A majority of American voters feel that both Israel and the United States should continue their military efforts, and that Iran and its proxies pose a direct threat to the U.S. and our allies in the region,” the statement continued.
The survey was conducted from Sept. 18 through Sept. 20 by Morning Consult, after the pager and walkie-talkie attacks against Hezbollah attributed to Israel but before the Israeli assassination of Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah. It cited a margin of error of 2%.
