The majority of British 18- to 24-year-olds do not believe that Israel should exist, a poll has revealed.

Overall, 54 per cent of voters in this age group say Israel should not exist, while just 21 per cent disagree, the data shows.

Half of the same age group think the Israeli government is to blame for the war in Gaza, while 25 per cent believe Hamas is at fault for the conflict, the poll, released by news website UnHerd, found. Fifteen per cent blame the Israeli public and eight per cent the Palestinian people, according to the survey of more than 1,000 voters conducted by research group Focaldata.

Nineteen per cent say all of these parties are equally at fault, while one in 10 respondents say they do not know. 

A plurality of the British public also believes the UK should disengage from the Israel-Hamas war.

While 27 per cent say the government should take a tougher stance on Israel and 12 per cent a tougher stance on Palestinians, 35 per cent think we should have no role in the conflict.

25 per cent say they do not know what Britain should do.

Young people are also significantly more interested in the Gaza war than the Ukraine war.

Two in five (38 per cent) of 18- to 24-year-olds say they are very interested in the former, compared to one in five (19 per cent) who are very interested in the latter.

The polling comes after months of widespread protests among students across Britain against Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

Raising the alarm last week over abuse faced by students amid the demonstrations, Union of Jewish Students president Edward Isaacs predicted Jewish student numbers would “plummet” at universities that fail to tackle antisemitism.

An open letter published by the union about rising Jew hate on campus said: “Emboldened by Hamas’ brutality, our peers declared open season on Jewish students. As we were punched, spat on, and sent death threats, we became increasingly fearful to be openly Jewish on campus.

“Our kippot were covered by baseball caps and our Magen David necklaces were tucked under our tops.”

While most under-25s think Israel should not exist, this belief is not shared by the majority of people across other age groups.

Thirty-five per cent of 25- to 34-year-olds, 25 per cent of 25- to 44 year olds, 12 per cent of 45- to 54-year-olds, 16 per cent of 55- to 64-year-olds, and just seven per cent of those over 65 think the Jewish state should not exist.

Across the British public as a whole, 31 per cent - a plurality - say the Gaza war is the fault of Hamas.

Just over one quarter (27 per cent) say the Israeli government is to blame while almost the same proportion (25 per cent) attributes blame equally to all parties.

More broadly, the poll reveals a desire to disengage from foreign wars.

Nearly half of respondents (44 per cent) want to see Britain become less engaged in overseas conflicts, with seven per cent answering that we should be more engaged.

Meanwhile, 21 per cent of voters say they would want their children to fight in the British Army to defend the UK from an invasion with 68 per cent opposed.

A significantly smaller proportion – seven per cent – say they would like their children to defend Israel from an Iranian attack, with 82 per cent against.