Dozens of countries disapprove of Biden's handling of Israel-Gaza war

Pew poll of international attitudes towards US shows widespread disapproval of US President's actions, but he is more popular than Donald Trump

President Joe Biden. AP

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A major new poll of people in dozens of countries has found that most disapprove of President Joe Biden's handling of the Israel-Gaza war.

But the Pew Research Centre survey that looked at international opinions of the US also found Mr Biden is more popular than his Republican rival Donald Trump.

Researchers spoke to more than 40,000 people in 34 countries around the globe and found that, with regard to his handling of major international issues, Mr Biden's approach to Gaza is viewed the most unfavourably.

In nearly every country surveyed, fewer than half approve of the way he has been handling the conflict, with the only exception being Kenya.

In Israel, a close US ally that Mr Biden has backed almost unequivocally since the Hamas attacks of October 7, six in 10 people disapprove of his actions.

Israeli Arabs are more likely to disapprove than Israeli Jews – 86 per cent compared to 53 per cent.

Disapproval rates are particularly high in Muslim-majority countries, specifically Malaysia, Tunisia and Turkey.

The poll found that general confidence in Mr Biden has dropped since last year.

In Australia and the UK, 54 per cent of people had confidence in Mr Biden in 2023, compared with only 40 per cent this year.

Confidence in him has also dropped significantly in Poland since last year, although a large proportion there still say they have faith in him when it comes to international relations.

Only about four in 10 people approve of how Mr Biden is dealing with the Russia-Ukraine war, but Europeans generally see this as where he is doing best.

Despite his tepid approval ratings, Mr Biden still fares better than former president Trump, who is seeking a second term in the White House in November.

Of the 34 countries polled, people have more confidence in Mr Biden than they do Trump – 43 per cent expressed confidence in the President compared to 28 per cent for his predecessor.

Trump last month was convicted of 34 felonies for covering up hush-money payments to keep scandalous stories out of the news before his 2016 campaign for the presidency.