According to a new Pew Research Center poll, fewer Americans see the war between Israel and Hamas as important to them personally—or important to U.S. national interests—than they did early last year.

Additionally, public views of Israel have become more negative over the past three years. More than half of American adults (53%) now express a negative opinion of Israel, up from 42% in March 2022—before the October 7, 2023, Hamas militant attack and the subsequent Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.

Americans' confidence in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also remains relatively low (32%), according to the new poll. The poll was conducted March 24-30—just prior to Netanyahu's recent visit—among a nationally representative sample of 3,605 American adults.

A slight majority of Americans (54%) say the Israel-Hamas war is very or somewhat important to them personally. This is down from 65% who said the same in January 2024, a few months after Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack.

Republicans and Democrats appear to be roughly equally likely to describe the conflict as personally important. In both parties, people age 50 and older are more likely than younger adults to say the conflict is personally important to them. But among Republicans, the gap between older and younger adults (18 percentage points) is wider than it is among Democrats (10 percentage points). Younger Republicans are more likely than older Republicans to say they are unsure whether the war is personally important to them (17% and 7%, respectively).

Jewish Americans in particular are more likely to say the conflict is personally important to them, with 93% saying so, including 74% who consider it very important.

Large shares of Muslims (68%) and white evangelical Protestants (66%) say the conflict is very or somewhat important to them personally. Smaller shares of Catholics (56%) and religiously unaffiliated adults (47%) say they feel this way.

How important is the war between Israel and Hamas to US national interests? When Americans were asked how important the war between Israel and Hamas is to US national interests, similar patterns emerged:

* 66% of American adults view the war as very or somewhat important to U.S. national interests, down 9 percentage points from last year.

* Republicans and Democrats are roughly equally likely to consider the war important to the U.S. national interest.

*Older Americans are generally more likely than younger Americans to view the conflict as important to the national interest.

* Majorities in most religious groups large enough to be analyzed describe the conflict as important to U.S. national interests, including 92% of Jewish Americans, 75% of white evangelical Christians, and 66% of Muslim Americans.

Opinions on how Trump is handling relations with the Israelis and Palestinians

Americans are roughly evenly split on whether Trump is too favorable to the Israelis (31%) or strikes the right balance between Israelis and Palestinians (29%). Only 3% say Trump is too favorable to the Palestinians, while 37% are unsure.

Jewish Americans are also divided on this question: 36% say Trump is too favorable to Israelis, while 43% say he is striking the right balance. Only 2% say he is too favorable to Palestinians. 17% are unsure. By comparison, in February 2024, when the Pew Research Center asked about former President Joe Biden's approach, Jewish adults were less likely to say Biden is too favorable to Israelis (13% vs. 36% for Trump) and more likely to say he is too favorable to Palestinians (18% vs. 2% for Trump). Jewish Americans were more likely to say Biden is striking the right balance than Trump (45% vs. 43%). Seven-in-ten Muslim Americans say Trump is too favorable to Israelis, a share largely unchanged from the share who said Biden was too favorable to Israelis last February.

A majority of Americans (53%) now express a somewhat or very negative opinion of Israel. This represents an 11-point increase in negative views since March 2022, when the Center last asked this question. The share of American adults expressing very negative views of Israel has nearly doubled during this period, from 10% in 2022 to 19% in 2025.

Democrats are more likely than Republicans to express negative views of Israel (69% vs. 37%). In 2022, 53% of Democrats and 27% of Republicans held negative views of Israel.

Both younger and older Democrats have become more negative toward Israel over this three-year period, but negative views among younger Democrats have increased by 9 percentage points, compared to a 23 percentage point increase among older Democrats.

Among Republicans, most of this shift in attitudes came among younger adults. Republicans under 50 are now more likely to have a negative view of Israel than a positive one (50% vs. 48%). In 2022, they were significantly more likely to view Israel favorably than unfavorably (63% vs. 35%).

Views of Israel vary widely among American religious groups large enough to analyze them.

Muslims and the religiously unaffiliated—those who say they are atheists or “nothing in particular”—hold particularly negative views of Israel (81% unfavorable and 69% unfavorable).

White non-evangelical Protestants are roughly evenly split in their views (50% unfavorable, 47% favorable).

American Jews and white evangelical Protestants hold mostly favorable views of Israel. About seven-in-ten in each group express a favorable opinion, including 42% of Jews and 36% of white evangelicals who express a very favorable opinion.

From 2024: Views on Israelis and Palestinians, the Israeli government, the Palestinian Authority, and Hamas

Opinions about Netanyahu

According to the poll, conducted ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent visit, a slim majority of Americans (52%) have no confidence in Netanyahu's ability to "do the right thing on world affairs," while 32% express confidence in him. This is largely unchanged from last year, although the percentage of Americans with little or no confidence in Netanyahu increased significantly between 2023 and 2024.

Republicans appear to be significantly more optimistic about the Israeli leader's handling of world affairs than Democrats (51% confident versus 15%). Older Republicans are particularly optimistic: Those 50 and older are nearly twice as likely as those under 50 to trust Netanyahu (70% versus 32%).

Among Democrats, majorities of younger and older adults lack confidence in Israel's prime minister. (In both parties, younger people are less likely to have heard of Netanyahu than older people.)

More than half of white evangelical Protestants (who are considered the strongest supporters of Israel) say they are confident in Netanyahu's handling of world affairs (58%).

In most other religious groups large enough to be analyzed, opinions are more divided or broadly negative. For example, 53% of American Jews lack confidence in Netanyahu's leadership, while 45% do. Among American Muslims, 87% have little or no confidence in him—including 74% who have no confidence at all.

Views on the possibility of peaceful coexistence between Israel and a Palestinian state

Less than half of Americans (46%) now believe it is possible to find a way for Israel and an independent Palestinian state to coexist peacefully—often called the “two-state solution.” This is down from 52% in a poll conducted in late 2023.

Today, Democrats appear more likely than Republicans (56% vs. 36%) to see the possibility of peaceful coexistence between Israel and a Palestinian state.

Younger Americans are also more likely than older ones to say that peaceful coexistence between the two sides is possible.

Opinions on the two-state solution are sharply divided among American Jews and American Muslims alike. About half of Jews (47%) say it is possible, while 52% say it is not. Among Muslims, 56% say it is possible, and 43% oppose it.

Opinions on whether the United States should seek control of the Gaza Strip? Trump has stated that the United States should control the Gaza Strip. In a new Pew Center poll, 38% of Americans believe the president is unlikely to pursue this policy.

The idea is also widely popular: 62% of Americans oppose US control of Gaza—including 49% who strongly oppose it—while 15% support Trump's proposal, and 22% say they are unsure.

Jewish Americans support the proposal slightly more than most other religious groups analyzed. Among Jewish adults, 32% say they support Trump's idea, while 64% oppose it. (Jewish Americans are less likely than most other U.S. religious groups to say they are unsure about this matter.)