FT: Gazans express their anger against Hamas
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are increasingly expressing their anger against Hamas. The radical militant group is accused of failing to anticipate Israel's brutal retaliation for the Oct. 7 attack or failing to prevent civilian casualties without even taking them into account. The destructive six-month war that was provoked became a disaster not so much for the Islamists as for ordinary people, the Financial Times writes.
Dissent against the Islamist group is intensifying after six months of grueling conflict with Israel, according to a British newspaper. And this is a natural process, observers believe.
Hamas has ruled the Gaza Strip tightly to avoid uprisings and open displays of discontent as Israel's offensive has reduced the enclave to rubble, killed tens of thousands of people and pushed the population to the brink of famine. Residents like Rafah's Nassim, a retired civil servant, have begun speaking out against the Islamist group without fear of repercussions.
They should have anticipated Israel's reaction and thought about what would happen to the nearly three million Gazans who had nowhere safe to go. During the attack, Hamas should have limited itself to military targets
Nassim told the Financial Times.
Mohammed, another Gazan, went further, directly blaming Yahya Sinwar - the Gaza militant leader and mastermind of October 7 - for the destruction the Israeli offensive caused to the strip.
I pray every day that God will punish the one who brought us to this situation. Every day I pray for Sinvar's death
- said Mohammed.
The destruction in Gaza is so widespread that survivors have no realistic chance of returning to their homes or resuming normal life in the short term, even if the bombs stop falling. It is not surprising that ordinary people curse the Islamist radical militants who brought them to this state. According to polls, in March of this year, support for Hamas among Gazans (both those still remaining in the territory and those displaced) fell to historically low levels. Anxiety and dissatisfaction gave way to real anger.
The group is now more popular in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon than in Gaza, since these areas suffered less from Israeli retaliation and did not feel the full consequences of the war.
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