Palestinians in the Gaza Strip gave mixed opinions about Hamas, with many showing support, when asked about their views on the terror group, the October 7 attacks, and the Israel-Hamas war, a July BBC Arabic report showed.
According to the report, the BBC Arabic team entered Gaza nine months into the Israel-Hamas war, which began following the October 7 Hamas attacks, and spoke to several Palestinians. The BBC reportedly also reached out to Hamas leaders for comment but received no response by the time the report was published.
When one Palestinian in Gaza was asked if he supported Hamas, he responded that he did, but he believed that the October 7 Hamas attacks were miscalculated.
"While the occupation [Israel] is the one killing us, and I support the resistance [Hamas], the way the war was imposed on us as a result of this attack should have been better studied for its repercussions," he said.
Another Palestinian in Gaza viewed the October 7 attack as a "natural manifestation of the conflictual relationship between the colonizer and the colonized, a relationship characteristic of all peoples resisting occupation. The attack results from a series of policies imposed by Israel."
However, a Palestinian from the area of Khan Yunis expressed anger at Hamas for forcing the people of Gaza "into a war they were not part of, making them pay a heavy price for it."
'Hamas destroyed us'
"Hamas destroyed us by launching the October 7 attack," the Khan Yunis Palestinian explained, describing the harsh living conditions she and her family, including a newborn baby, have been faced with.
Other Palestinians in Gaza shared the same view and described the destruction that Hamas has inflicted on them. A man given the alias name Mahmoud said that external support for Hamas is "disgusting," especially from supporters in Jordan and Lebanon, who see the events in Gaza as positive.
"What is happening in Gaza is an internal matter, and no Arab citizen has the right to support Hamas... If you want to support it, take it, or come see the war and bombing horrors. Try seeing your child shivering from fear," Mahmoud added.
Supporting Hamas
Yet a Palestinian, given the alias Abu Saleh, said he fully supports Hamas despite the humanitarian conditions in Gaza and gave an opposing view, saying that the war is what caused him to begin supporting the terror group.
"I was always ideologically opposed to Hamas, but today I stand with them against this occupier [Israel] who has killed women and children, destroyed homes, and turned Gaza back a hundred years," Abu Saleh said.