CORRECTS - More than 50% of Americans oppose arms shipments to Israel: Poll

CORRECTS PERCENTAGE OF TRUMP VOTERS IN DECK, NAME OF THINK TANK

By Merve Aydogan

TORONTO, Canada (AA) - A US think tank revealed Tuesday that more than 50% of Americans want the Biden administration to halt weapons shipments to Israel until it stops its attacks on the Gaza Strip.

"Fifty-two percent of Americans agree that the US government should halt weapons shipments to Israel until Israel stops its attacks on Gaza," the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) said in a statement, citing a new YouGov poll it commissioned.

CEPR said the poll revealed "a major partisan split as 62% of the respondents who voted for President (Joe) Biden in 2020 agree with the statement ‘The US should stop weapons shipments to Israel until Israel discontinues its attacks on the people of Gaza,’ while just 14% disagree."

"By contrast, only 30% of Trump voters support halting US weapons shipments, while a majority (55%) oppose, and another 15% say they are unsure," it added.

The poll was conducted between Feb. 27 - March 1.

Israel has launched a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, which Tel Aviv said killed less than 1,200 people.

At least 30,631 Palestinians have since been killed and 72,043 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The US has provided 21,000 precision-guided munitions to Israel since October, according to media reports.

Other types of munitions and weapons include tens of thousands of 155mm artillery shells, thousands of bunker-buster munitions and 200 kamikaze drones.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide by the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.