Poll finds majority of Canadians want Israeli government to stop military action in Gaza strip

A new Maru public opinion poll reveals the majority (55 per cent) of Canadians want the Israeli government to stop its military action in the Gaza strip.

In a release, Maru stated that this opinion prevails “even though it may mean that Hamas continues to hold hostages and remains a political threat to those who live in Israel.”

Forty-five per cent, meanwhile, believe the Israeli government under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “should continue its military action in the Gaza strip until Hamas gives up the remaining hostages and agrees to acceptable ceasefire conditions, regardless of the loss of Palestinian civilian lives in doing so.”

Those most likely to believe the Israeli government should halt military action are the youngest age group polled (18-34) at 65 per cent, in comparison to older Canadians (35-54) at 54 per cent and over age 55 at 50 per cent.

Women were more likely to be in favour of a stoppage in military action (60 per cent) than men at 50 per cent.

The poll was conducted on May 15-16 among a random selection of 1,530 Canadian adults. For comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size has an estimated margin of error (which measures sampling variability) of +/- 2.5%, 19 times out of 20.