When Israel allowed an independent journalist to enter Gaza to speak to Palestinians there, many would have perhaps expected a furore of anger towards Israel. But quite the opposite is true.
Whilst we have had the displeasure of hearing biased reporting from Gaza-based journalists working for the likes of anti-Israel media platforms like Al-Jazeera, it appears to be the first time that Israel’s military has permitted a Western journalist to enter the Gaza Strip since the start of the war.
For over a year, Israeli and foreign journalists have only been able to enter Gaza from Israel under IDF oversight and were taken solely to areas devoid of civilians to document the military’s activities. Hamas also strictly controls reporting out of Gaza and has threatened journalists who report on the group’s terror activities. For the past year, the only major outlet allowed by Hamas to operate inside the Gaza Strip has been Al Jazeera, which is known to have close ties with the terror group, portraying it as a “resistance movement.”
When reporter Ohad Hemo spoke to Gazan civilians, many vented their frustration at Hamas, shouting and cursing the terror group ruling Gaza for the devastation it wreaked on their lives
“I swear I was happy when you killed [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar, who caused destruction and killed our children,” one woman was filmed shouting. “God willing you’ll destroy them,” Israel’s Channel 12 quotes.
Even if you don't speak a word of Arabic, you can understand what these Gazans are expressing: deep, visceral rage.
But it's not Israel they're enraged about— it's Hamas. pic.twitter.com/9rF5LmYI7y
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) November 10, 2024
Hemo’s report for Israel’s Channel 12 might have been met with left-wing skepticism, but polls by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research also point to waning support for Hamas among Gazans, with only 39 percent in the Strip reporting a positive view of the group in September, down from 64% in June.
The Times of Israel itself has interviewed a number of Gazans with very similar attitudes towards Hamas (names changed for safety).
Mark, a European aid worker managing logistics for a large humanitarian organization in Deir al-Balah, reported that when Hamas fires rockets, a rare occurrence these days, only teenagers seem to cheer on the street.
“Adults then invariably tell them there is nothing to cheer about. Every rocket that is fired causes trouble,” he said. “It will elicit an Israeli reaction and bombings for the following week.”
“People have come to see Hamas as a problem. I have yet to come across any adult who openly supports Hamas or claims it can bring a solution,” Mark added.
Khaled, a 30-year-old Palestinian man living in a crowded encampment for displaced Gazans in the south of the Strip, depicted general frustration with the terror group. His conversation with The Times of Israel was facilitated by the US-based Center for Peace Communications, which has sought to broadcast the sentiments of anti-Hamas Gazans to the world. (In January 2023, The Times of Israel published a series of shorts produced by the center.)
“People hate Hamas more and more,” said Khaled, who was an opponent of the group before October 7 and has been jailed by Hamas in the past. “What they need now is peace.”
Rashid, an anti-Hamas activist from Deir al-Balah who was previously jailed by the group for his participation in the 2019 “We want to live” protest movement, said,
“Most people in Gaza are against Hamas; they want a future without it,” he said. “One good thing about the war is that they can now curse it openly on the streets without fear of retaliation.”
“There was some optimism after Sinwar’s killing, with people hopeful that a ceasefire was near and normalcy would return – even among some Hamas supporters,” Rashid noted.
