An increasing proportion of U.S. adults believe that Israel's military response in Gaza has "gone too far," according to a new AP/Norc poll published Friday.

Why it matters: The findings underscore how divided Americans are over the Israel-Hamas war, which has become a lightening rod everywhere from college campuses to workplaces across the U.S.

• The war has also placed President Biden and his support for Israel out of step with some members of his own party as well as many younger Americans.

By the numbers: Among U.S. adults polled in January, 50% said they believed that Israel's actions in Gaza had "gone too far," compared to 40% who said the same in November, the poll found.

• Only 31% believed that Israel's military response has "been about right," down from 38% in November.
• The new poll found that 35% of American consider Israel an ally that shares the U.S.' interests and values, a decrease from 44% in November — but ultimately similar to levels found in a pre-war Aug. 2023 poll.
• Approval ratings for Biden's handling of the war have fallen to 31%, 6 points lower than December.
• However, among Democrats the drop was even greater, with 46% saying in January they approved, compared to 59% the month before. Conversely, the approval rating among Republicans rose by 3 points, but reached only 21%.

The big picture: Though Biden has largely avoided criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, the president and other U.S. officials have reportedly become increasingly frustrated with the Israeli leader.

• The administration has emphasized the need to minimize Palestinian civilian deaths amid the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.
• Biden on Thursday took an unprecedented step in signing an executive order allowing the U.S. to impose new sanctions on Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank involved in violent attacks against Palestinians.

Methodology: The poll was conducted between Jan. 25-29, 2024 with 1,152 adults. The margin of error is +/- 4.0 percentage points.