Israel’s military offensive in Gaza over the past 21 months has been the subject of debate and protests. New polling shows American public opinion has shifted, with support for Israel in the conflict declining and only half of Americans now supporting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

And public pushback was on display at U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss’s Q&A event at Newton North High School Wednesday night.

Auchincloss spoke about a variety of issues—from Medicaid cuts and housing affordability to social media company accountability—but what audience members kept getting up and asking about was the war in Gaza, which has turned into a humanitarian crisis.

Some asked about war crimes, others asked for his thoughts on the blockage of food that has people, including children, starving to death.

Auchincloss acknowledged that there is a humanitarian crisis to address and that Netanyahu was wrong when he said there was no starvation happening. But he maintained his determination that Hamas, a terror organization elected into power in Gaza in 2006, was to blame, and he noted that not only did Hamas kill some of the Israeli civilians held hostage in Gaza but the terror group continues to hold Israeli hostages there.

“I think we as citizens and as policy makers have to hold in our heads competing convictions and ideas,” Auchincloss said. “One is that Hamas is singularly responsible for atrocities in the Middle East right now,” Auchincloss told the audience, who responded with a mix of cheers and boos.

People started shouting words like “war crimes” and “genocide” and eventually Auchincloss asked for quiet.

“I’m very used to having back-and-forth. I do it all the time in congressional testimony, but I do give my respondents at the congressional table a chance to respond so please give me that chance,” he said. “Hamas is singularly responsible and has singular power to end this atrocity right now by releasing the hostages…”

He was then interrupted by an even louder round of booing from the audience.

“It is also true that Israel has de facto responsibility, by virtue of its power and presence in Gaza, to ensure appropriate humanitarian conditions, and humanitarian conditions in Gaza are unacceptable,” the congressman continued,

That kind of exchange was repeated throughout the 90-minute event.

Outside, activists handed out flyers with information on the Gaza crisis and projected a video onto the side of the school building showing Palestinians talking about their suffering.

Israel’s military operation in Gaza was initiated by the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks that killed more than 1,000 Israeli civilians. Estimates put the Gazan death count in the tens of thousands so far, and the longer the war persists the more public outcry there is against it in the United States.

One woman, who identified herself as a physician and a mother, said she hadn’t planned to ask a question but felt compelled by what’s going on in Gaza, particularly the starvation,

“My greatest wish is that we don’t see any more images on TV. That horrified me, to watch these children starve, and adults starving too. And they knew this was coming,” she said to Auchincloss. “You’re a communicator, and I’m so impressed with how you communicate with us, with social media and everything else, but I want to know how you’re going to communicate that starvation is not where my tax dollars should go to?”

Auchincloss responded that Hamas was the organization “has been eviscerating the Palestinian people for 15 years.”

“It’s been Hamas that has murdered babies and used sexual violence, it’s been Hamas who executed six hostages…”

And the roar of boos and hollers reemerged, louder than before.

Auchincloss stood at the podium enduring 90 minutes of that, with breaks when people asked about non-Gaza-related topics.

The war in Gaza has been a sensitive issue in Newton, which has large Jewish and Arab populations. Last year, the city saw a slew of hate crimes related to Israel and Gaza, and a Framingham Israel supporter shot a Newton man after a scuffle over the situation in Gaza.

This week, Newton City Councilor Bill Humphrey posted on Instagram denouncing the war in Gaza and telling others who shared his views that they’re not alone.