Ordinary Gazans are bearing the brunt of the 8-month war, and many are speaking out and directing their anger at Hamas. The New York Times published a front-page article this week based on interviews with nearly a dozen Gaza residents who blame Hamas for initiating the conflict and bringing death and destruction upon them.
The sentiment that Hamas is prioritizing its self-serving objectives over the welfare of ordinary Gazans is widespread. Ameen Abed from Jabaliya in northern Gaza expressed his frustration: “I do not want to sacrifice my life, my home, and my house for anyone. Who are you to impose this kind of life on me? My home has gone because someone’s imprisonment will end after four months, why? What did I benefit from?”
Abed highlighted the disparity between Hamas and ordinary Gazans, pointing out that while Hamas and hostages stay protected in underground tunnels, Gazans face constant bombardment with no protection.
“There is uncontrolled anger against Hamas,” he said. “It threw the Palestinian people into the bottom of the well.”
Some Gazans interviewed by The New York Times believe that Hamas knowingly initiated a devastating war with Israel, which led to heavy civilian casualties, without providing the necessary resources like food, water, or shelter to help people survive it.
This is not the first report of this kind. Hints of dissent have emerged throughout the conflict. “They should have predicted Israel’s response and thought of what would happen to the 2.3 million Gazans who have nowhere safe to go,” Nassim, a retired civil servant from Rafah, told the Financial Times in April. “They [Hamas] should have restricted themselves to military targets.”
A resident of Khan Younis named Mohammed directly blamed Hamas head Yahya Sinwar for the devastation caused in Gaza, “I pray every day for God to punish the one who brought us to this situation. I pray every day for the death of Sinwar.”
Raed al-Kelani, 47, emphasized his frustration with Hamas’s self-serving actions. “It started Oct. 7, and it wants to end it on its own terms,” said Mr. al-Kelani. “But time is ticking with no potential hope of ending this,” he added. Mr. al-Kelani now makes meals and distributes food aid in shelters for displaced Gazans. “Hamas is still seeking its slice of power,” he said. “Hamas does not know how to get down from the tree it climbed.”
Bisan Nateel, a youth organizer for a local Gaza nongovernmental organization, voiced her anguish to the Christian Science Monitor in a March interview: “We did not choose to be in a war that takes us from our homes, [takes] the lives of loved ones, and puts our lives in a death game that we knew nothing about.”
An aid worker in central Gaza named Waid, expressed his frustration: “Hamas didn’t warn us or give any instructions to protect or help people. I don’t know what they were thinking or what they expected people to do, but this is unacceptable for everyone in Gaza. I feel that Hamas gambled with our lives at stake and lost.”
Recent surveys reflect the diminishing support for Hamas among Gazans. A March survey by the Institute for Social and Economic Progress showed about three-quarters of respondents opposing Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s Gaza-based leader, and a similar share opposing Ismail Haniyeh, the movement’s political leader in exile. “When you realize six months in or seven months in that Gaza is completely destroyed, your life as a Gazan is completely destroyed, that’s where people are coming from when they are not supportive of Sinwar or Haniyeh,” said Obada Shtaya, a Palestinian and founder of the Institute.
Khalil Shikaki, director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, reported that support for Hamas fell dramatically in recent months. “There is no doubt support for Hamas is declining in Gaza because more and more people feel it has some responsibility for the pain they are enduring,” Shikaki said.
Some Gazans interviewed believe this war has persisted longer than previous conflicts partly because Hamas is determined not only to survive but to maintain its power. This raises concerns that future wars with Israel will continue to plunge Gazans into misery.
One resident who fled to Egypt with her family reported that friends and family back in Gaza do not want the war to end before Hamas is defeated. She criticized Hamas for prioritizing its own aims over the well-being of Palestinians. “They could have surrendered a long time ago and saved us from all this suffering,” said the woman, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution.
A 26-year-old lawyer from Gaza echoed these sentiments, criticizing Hamas for persisting in a war without achieving its goals. “This isn’t resistance. This is insanity,” he said.
