Have more Palestinians or Israelis died in war? Half of Americans don’t know, poll says
About 32,000 Palestinians and 1,200 Israelis have been killed since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, marking a casualty ratio of roughly 26 to 1, according to officials from both governments.
But despite this massive disparity, half of Americans do not know which side has had a higher death toll, according to a March 21 poll from the Pew Research Center.
The poll, conducted in February, sampled 12,693 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.5 percentage points.
When asked via a “basic knowledge” multiple choice question whether the death toll was higher among Palestinians or Israelis, 48% of respondents did not select the correct answer.
One-third, 34%, selected “not sure,” while 7% chose “higher among Israelis” and 7% chose “about the same.”
A slim majority of respondents, 52%, correctly reported that more Palestinians have died.
Awareness — or lack thereof — of the war casualties corresponded to opinions about the conflict in a handful of ways, according to the poll.
Firstly, those who did not know the Palestinian death toll was higher were far more likely to decline to answer opinion questions.
Second, those who correctly answered the death toll question were more likely to signal pro-Palestinian views.
For example, among those who were aware of the death toll disparity, 61% had favorable opinions of Palestinians, while 39% of those who were unaware of the disparity had favorable opinions of Palestinians.
Additionally, those who were aware of the death toll breakdown were far more likely to say President Joe Biden is siding with the Israelis too much.
Of those who correctly said more Palestinians have died, 35% said Biden is favoring the Israelis too much, while 15% of those who incorrectly answered the question said Biden is favoring the Israelis too much.
Two other “basic knowledge” questions were posed to respondents: Who is the current prime minister of Israel? And who attacked Israel on Oct. 7?
On these questions, more respondents selected the right answers, with 62% correctly identifying Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel’s prime minister and 80% identifying Hamas as the group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7.
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