The current wave of videos started with a low-quality clip filmed at nighttime sometime last week, presumably from an area of evacuees in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, where crowds could be heard chanting “The people want the fall of Hamas!”
However, the low quality, bad visibility, and exceptionally rare message conveyed by the masses led some to discard it as “fabricated Zionist propaganda”.
Nevertheless, more and more similar videos began to appear, and these were far more difficult to refute. The next piece of footage published five days ago in Gazan groups, further propagated by IDF Spokesman in Arabic Avichai Adraee, showed a spontaneous demonstration of mainly children in one of the evacuee centers in the southern Gaza Strip, where demonstrators chanted “We want to go back to back Beit Lahya, we want to go back to Shati, we want to go back to Jabalia!,” all of which are neighborhoods located in the largely evacuated northern part of the Gaza Strip.
The leaders of #ISIS_Hamas, led by Al-Sinwar, listen to the cries of your people, your children and your women, who went out in this spontaneous demonstration inside Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, expressing their indignation at the situation you pushed Gaza into and demanding that you return the kidnapped Israelis to their homes so that the war stops. Will this arrive… pic.twitter.com/u7Ewugab18
– Avichay Adraee (@AvichaiAdraee) January 24, 2024
One sign held during this spontaneous demonstration drew special attention, as it read “yes to handing over the prisoners,” clearly referring to the 136 Israeli hostages held by Hamas and other terrorist factions in the Gaza Strip. The sign stirred up a virtual storm, with many showing their disdain towards the message, and leading some to suggest that it referred in fact to the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails – ignoring the clear formulation of “handing over” prisoners, rather than “releasing” them. Several commenters tried to discard the message not as carrying any meaning, claiming that the event was led by children who can barely read and write; while others remarked that they should not be judged by outsiders who do not go through what they had to endure so far.
However, this was not the only video of a grassroots demonstration. A second video soon sprung up, portraying another spontaneous rally of evacuees marching with white flags and empty water jugs calling “We want peace, we want peace!” In a Palestinian group, one member answered a comment which asked, “Who exactly do they want to make peace with?” by replying that “these people suffer so much that they would make peace with Satan to stop their suffering”.
“We want peace, we want peace.” The residents of Gaza are demanding that Hamas, which distributed sweets to them on October 7, stop the war they imposed on them… The continuation of the war by Hamas harms, first and foremost, the Gazans themselves. If Hamas cared about the Gazans, it would have stopped the war and returned the kidnapped Israelis, leaders of #ISIS_Hamas, and in… pic.twitter.com/8K4ehnAy9e
– Avichay Adraee (@AvichaiAdraee) January 25, 2024
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Then came a third video which was also promoted by Adraee showing a gathering of hundreds of citizens of Khan Younis on their way to the southern humanitarian area, presumably shouting here as well “The people want the fall of Hamas!”
#Urgent “The people want to overthrow Hamas” – Large masses of Gazans move from Khan Yunis through the safe humanitarian corridor and chant – “The people want to overthrow Hamas.” The safe humanitarian corridor that was opened in recent days west of Khan Yunis for Gazans allows movement west to the humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi. And opening an army… pic.twitter.com/2vwIV9tTC0
– Avichay Adraee (@AvichaiAdraee) January 27, 2024
And then a fourth one appeared, showing Gazan citizens, including children and women, marching with white flags and calling “The people want a ceasefire”, as well as “O Netanyahu and Sinwar – enough with destruction and war!” Such direct appeals to Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar, which may be perceived as overt criticism, as well as the subtle comparison between him and the prime minister, are rare and possibly even dangerous under the totalitarian Hamas regime.
The people of Gaza: “Netanyahu, Sinwar…the people want to stop the war. Enough war and destruction!” pic.twitter.com/fmaAaiwmun
– Abdul Aziz Al-Khames (@alkhames) January 26, 2024
Indeed, Demonstrations such as these a rare sight – with messages criticizing the Hamas government being even rarer, due to both social taboos and legal measures, in addition to harsh restraints on media coverage. For example, in 2019, a series of grassroots demonstrations took place in Gaza under the slogan Bidna N’eesh (“we want to live”) regarding the harsh economic situation under Hamas administration, but these were quickly and brutally quashed by Hamas, who also expectedly alleged that Israel incited them and accused participants of collaborating with the enemy.
In this context, several videos of citizens critical of Hamas or its armed military wing, the Izz Eddin Al-Qassam Brigades, also appeared sporadically on social media since the start of the war, as Palestinians exploited live, unedited broadcasts to make their real views heard across the Arab world.
An old lady reprimanding a shocked anchor and accusing Hamas for stealing aid and bringing it underground for their benefit; a young man shouting “we want a ceasefire” behind a live press conference near one of the hospitals; evacuees marching southbound from their homes in the northern Gaza Strip cursing at Hamas and its leaders and wishing for Godly revenge for the perceived catastrophe they brought upon their people; an old injured man surprising his interviewer by accusing Al-Qassam of hiding between civilians; a mother crying over her son cursing at Hamas – all of these moments caught on camera can be deemed genuine, especially as they were broadcast on Hamas supporting outlets such as Al-Jazeera.
Not the full picture
Nevertheless, these bits and pieces are certainly not the entire picture. According to a poll conducted by renowned Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki in December 2023, 57% of respondents from the Gaza Strip thought Hamas was right in launching the October 7 massacre; though it should be noted that this data was collected during the temporary ceasefire of that month, and that much has changed since then, especially in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Likewise, it is very uncommon to come across discourse criticizing Hamas on Gazan social media.
It should be noted, however, that the Hamas rule in Gaza is a totalitarian one, where freedom of expression is heavily restricted and the very act of criticizing the movement and its armed wing can lead to serious and dangerous repercussions, including arrest and torture. For this reason, Gazan citizens’ views towards the Hamas leadership and its military wing will remain a conundrum, at least as long as Hamas continues to rule the Gaza Strip with an iron fist.
