A poll released today by The Israel Project, publisher of The Tower, and the polling firm Paragon Insights, shows that 65% of Americans agree that Hamas is a terrorist organization and that Israel “must stop” Hamas’ terror.

A new national poll surveyed 1,010 likely voters between July 21-22, 2014, specifically probing the sources of ongoing support and evaluating the effectiveness of messaging promoted by both proponents and opponents of Israel’s Operation Protective Edge. The poll was conducted completely after Jerusalem had dispatched ground troops into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip to erode the terror group’s tunnel infrastructure and rocket arsenal.

Fifty-four percent of Americans believe that the U.S. should support Israel, with majorities or pluralities across age and political demographics.

Hamas received the most blame for the current conflict, with 39 percent of those surveyed saying that the terror group is the “most responsible” for the fighting in Israel and Gaza. By contrast, just 6 percent of respondents believed Israel bore a majority of the responsibility.

As shown in the graph embedded below, 58 percent of those polled agreed that Hamas hides behind civilians, in contrast to Israel, which protects civilians. Larger majorities put the onus on Hamas for the lack of peace, and blamed Hamas for using civilians deaths for public relations purposes. 65 percent of those polled consider Hamas a terrorist group that Israel “must stop.”

Hamas breached a ceasefire once again this morning, kidnapping a soldier and killing two others. This violation prompted harsh condemnations from the Obama administration.

[Photo: Reuters / YouTube ]