The current influx of videos started with a low-quality clip that was seemingly filmed during 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 Hamas’s downfall!”
However, the low quality, bad visibility, and exceptionally rare message conveyed by the masses led some to discard it as “fabricated Zionist propaganda.”
Nevertheless, similar videos increasingly began surfacing, and these were far more difficult to refute.
The next piece of footage published five days ago among Gazan groups, and further propagated by IDF Spokesman in Arabic, Avichay Adraee, showed a spontaneous demonstration comprised mainly of children in one of the evacuee centers in the southern Gaza Strip, where demonstrators chanted: “We want to go back to back Beit Lahia, we want to go back to Shati, we want to go back to Jabalya!” All of the areas mentioned are neighborhoods located in the largely evacuated northern part of the Gaza Strip.قادة #دواعش_حماس وفي مقدمتهم السنوار، استمعوا إلى صرخات شعبكم أطفالكم ونسائكم الذين خرجوا في هذه التظاهرة العفوية داخل مستشفى شهداء الأقصى بدير البلح ويعبرون عن سخطهم من الوضع الذي دفعتم غزة اليه ويطالبونكم بإعادة المختطفين الإسرائيليين إلى ديارهم لتتوقف الحرب. هل ستصل هذه… pic.twitter.com/u7Ewugab18
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) 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, claiming it was meaningless, that the event was led by children who can barely read and write. Still, 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 chanting, “We want peace, we want peace!” In a Palestinian chat group, one participant responded to 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.”
״بدنا سلام بدنا سلام" سكان غزة يطالبون حماس التي وزعت عليهم الحلويات في السابع من أكتوبر بوقف الحرب التي فرضوها عليهم…مواصلة الحرب من قبل حماس تضر أولا وأخيرا بالغزيين أنفسهم. لو اكترثت حماس بالغزيين لكانت توقف الحرب وتعيد المختطفين الإسرائيليين قادة #دواعش_حماس وفي… pic.twitter.com/8K4ehnAy9e
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) January 25, 2024
Then came a third video, which was also promoted by Adraee, portrayed a gathering of hundreds of Khan Yunis citizens on their way to a southern humanitarian area, presumably shouting in this case as well, “The people want Hamas’s downfall!”
#عاجل "الشعب يريد اسقاط حماس" - جماهير غفيرة من سكان غزة ينتقلون من خانيونس عبر الممر الإنساني الآمن ويهتفون - "الشعب يريد إسقاط حماسالممر الإنساني الآمن الذي تم افتتاحه في الأيام الأخيرة غرب خان يونس لسكان غزة يتيح التحرك غربًا إلى المنطقة الإنسانية في المواصي. وفتح جيش… pic.twitter.com/2vwIV9tTC0
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) January 27, 2024
And then a fourth one appeared, showing Gazan citizens, including women and children, marching with white flags and calling, “The people want a ceasefire,” as well as “Oh Netanyahu and Sinwar – enough with destruction and war!”
أهل غزة:"نتنياهو يا سنوار.. الشعب يريد إيقاف الحرب. يكفي حرب ودمار"! pic.twitter.com/fmaAaiwmun
— عبد العزيز الخميس (@alkhames) January 26, 2024
Such direct appeals to the Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar, which may be perceived as overt criticism, as well as a subtle comparison between him and the Israeli prime minister, are rare and possibly even dangerous under the totalitarian Hamas regime.
Indeed, demonstrations such as these are a rare sight – with messages directly criticizing the Hamas government being even rarer, due to social taboos, legal measures, and harsh restrictions 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 the 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 Izzadin 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.
These appeals portrayed an elderly woman reprimanding a shocked anchor and accusing Hamas of stealing aid and bringing it underground for their own 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 Hamas wrought upon their own people; an elderly, injured man surprising his interviewer by accusing al-Qassam’s Brigades of hiding among civilians; a mother crying over her son, cursing at Hamas – all moments that were caught on camera, and can thereby be deemed genuine, especially as they were broadcasted on pro-Hamas mediums such as Al Jazeera.
Nevertheless, these bits and pieces are certainly not the entire picture. According to a poll conducted by renown Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki in December, 57% of respondents from the Gazs 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. In addition, it is very uncommon to come across discourse criticizing Hamas on Gazan social media.
It should be noted that Hamas’s rule in Gaza is a totalitarian one. Freedom of expression is heavily restricted there; the very act of criticizing the movement and its armed wing can lead to serious, 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.