More Americans now see a permanent ceasefire in Gaza as a priority, according to a new The Associated Press-NORC Research Center poll.
When asked about the level of importance of negotiating a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, 59 percent in the poll said it is “extremely important” or “very important” that the U.S. do so, marking a 9 point difference from February 2024, when 48 percent said the same.
An initial ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was broken via Israeli strikes on Gaza last month, angering critics of Israel's response to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in the region. Hamas officials reported that the March strikes killed over 400 Palestinians.
President Trump approved of the March strikes, and has warned in the past that the U.S. would “unleash hell” on Hamas in the case it refused to let go of hostages it has had since Oct. 7, 2023.
In the AP-NORC poll, 26 percent said the U.S.’s negotiation of a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is “somewhat important,” while 12 percent said it was “not too important” or “not important at all.”
Forty-one percent in the poll also said that the U.S. providing humanitarian aid for Gazans is “extremely important” or “very important,” while 35 percent said it was “somewhat important.” Twenty-one percent said U.S. relief to Palestinians in Gaza is “not too important” or “not important at all.”
The AP-NORC poll took place from March 20 to 24, featuring 1,229 people and plus or minus 2.9 percentage points as its margin of error.
