Hamas under attack from Gaza residents: “May God take them”

Almost nine months after the outbreak of the war, the fear of the residents of the Gaza Strip to express criticism of Hamas is slowly fading. Videos that have flooded social networks in recent days are almost unimaginable in the reality of October 7, in which Gazans are seen publicly – and blatantly – defending the rule of Hamas.

In one of the videos, a man can be seen, his facial expression tormented under a mask of blood dripping from his head, near a hospital in the Gaza Strip: “I am an academic and a doctor, I had a good life, but we have a crappy leadership,” he shouts. “They (the Hamas leadership) have gotten used to the bloodshed, may God curse them.”

“Who qualified Hamas to sacrifice our lives for the release of prisoners?”

Finally he turns to the crowd around him and slams them: “I am one of you, but you are a people of cowards. We could have avoided all of this.” The video went viral, and this is not an isolated case. The British BBC network published today (Thursday) that a senior official in Hamas admitted several months ago that following the massacre and the war, Hamas lost support among the residents. Another source, employed by Hamas, called the Shiva massacre in October “uncalculated madness”.

Another issue where there is a certain change in public opinion is the Day of the Massacre itself. According to recent polls, most residents of the Gaza Strip said that they do not believe that Hamas raped, tortured and murdered women and children. Most of them testified that they were not exposed to harsh documentation from the day of the massacre, and only about a tenth of the respondents watched horror videos. Of those who did watch the documentaries, most of them agreed that Hamas committed atrocities against civilians.

The publication of the video of the abduction of the observers a few weeks ago caused an uproar not only in Israel, but also in Gaza itself. Gazans began to deal with the question of whether the kidnapping of female soldiers during the war is compatible with the laws of Islam. In response, pro-Hamas users posted messages on social media insisting that the fate of enemy soldiers is the fate of his own soldiers.

And there are also those who have found a humorous way to express their protest. A number of Gaza residents told in interviews with the BBC that a new trend has developed among the vendors in the markets: to call their donkeys “Sinwar”. “When they want to speed him up to go faster, they shout ‘come on, Sinwar’.”

Measuring the level of support of the residents of Gaza for Hamas is a complicated matter, the war that forced many Gazans to abandon their homes piles up difficulties on an accurate assessment, but even before that – two decades of Hamas’s reign of terror took their toll, and many residents are afraid to express their views.

The last time Gazans went to the polls, in 2006, Hamas defeated Fatah, but in 2007 took control of the centers of power in a violent conflict that claimed the lives of over a hundred people. Since then, no elections have been held in the Strip, and two generations of residents have never been given the opportunity to express themselves. Your position at the ballot box.

A few weeks ago, the New York Times published an article with an interview with about ten current and former residents of Gaza, alongside polls conducted in recent months that show a fluctuation, even if not a landslide, in public opinion. In recent months, the Times reports, the residents’ criticism of Hamas has been increasing. They still see Israel as primarily responsible for their situation, but now they believe: Hamas carried out the massacre despite knowing the heavy price the residents would pay, and now the terrorist organization is trying to hold on to power at the expense of their lives.

“When Hamas attacked Israel, most Gazans saw it as a form of resistance,” a 26-year-old lawyer, resident of the Gaza Strip, told the newspaper about the massacre carried out by Hamas terrorists on October 7. “But we do not support a protracted war that brings no results. This is not resistance, but complete madness.”

The goals of the war themselves are also causing an uprising among residents, especially Hamas’s demand to release Palestinian prisoners imprisoned in Israel. “For me to lose my house so someone can be released from prison?” The anger of a resident of Jabaliya. “Who are they to sentence me to such a life? I am not ready to sacrifice my life or that of my family members for anyone.”