A new poll has found that around half of Americans view Israel’s military action in the Gaza Strip as “excessive,” and think that the US foreign policy should prioritize negotiating a permanent ceasefire to end the war.
The AP-NORC Poll, conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, revealed that 49% of Americans believe that Israel’s military response in Gaza “has gone too far.”
Israel’s War on Gaza
According to the results, 71% of Democrats say that Israel has gone too far, and nearly half of the independents believe the same, while about half of Republicans think the response has been about right.
Most recently, Israel has launched a long-threatened ground offensive to occupy Gaza City, amid mounting global condemnation of its conduct of the war in Gaza, which has so far claimed the lives of over 65,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health authorities.
Moreover, an independent inquiry, commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council, concluded that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza and that top Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have incited these acts.
Foreign Policy Priorities
Nearly half of Americans (51%) think that negotiating a permanent ceasefire between Hamas and Israel should be an important foreign policy goal for the US. This included 64% Democrats, 38% independents and 46% Republicans.
Meanwhile, 45% of Americans see providing humanitarian relief to Palestinians in Gaza as important. This is followed by 30% who believe that negotiating the establishment of an independent Palestinian State is important, while only 22% prioritize providing aid to Israel’s military.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll from August 2025 shows similar trends, with 59% of Americans believing that Israel’s military response in Gaza has been excessive. It also found that 65% of Americans say that the US should help people who are facing starvation in Gaza.
Trump’s Handling of Conflicts
With regards to the US global role, the AP-NORC poll showed that 38% of Americans think the US current role in solving global issues is about right, while 33% believe that the US should take a less active role.
Approval of US President Donald Trump‘s handling of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has fallen to 37%, compared to 60% who disapprove of his handling of the conflict.
The AP-NORC poll took place between September 11-15, 2025, with 1,183 adults aged 18 and above across the US.
