海角大神

Across the Gaza Strip 鈥� from markets to evacuee camps to social media channels 鈥� Palestinian frustration and anger with Hamas is on the rise.

Complaints began with Hamas鈥� apparent disregard for Gaza civilians who faced the brunt of Israel鈥檚 punishing military response to the Oct. 7 attack while Hamas fighters remained in tunnels.

Now, with starvation, profiteering, and internal chaos on the rise, the militant group that has ruled the strip for 17 years is nowhere to be found.

鈥淲e 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,鈥� says Bisan Nateel, a youth organizer for a local Gaza nongovernmental organization.

鈥淗amas didn鈥檛 warn us or give any instructions to protect or help people. I don鈥檛 know what they were thinking or what they expected people to do, but this is unacceptable for everyone in Gaza,鈥� says Walid, an aid worker in central Gaza who declined to use his full name. 鈥淚 feel that Hamas gambled with our lives at stake, and lost.鈥�

Rafaat Naim, a Gaza businessman and former member of the Palestine Chamber of Commerce, says prior to the war, support for Hamas among Gaza residents was already limited. 鈥淗amas鈥� popularity in the Gaza Strip was waning, due to its governance failures [and] misallocation of funds,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he devastating impact of the conflict further entrenched this sentiment.鈥�

The anger that has been simmering since the early days of the war, meanwhile, has only in recent weeks come to the surface. These are not organized calls or political protests against Hamas, but conversational complaints growing louder by the day. Tiny protests have been scattered.

鈥淧eople now are very angry with Hamas, but at the same time they are afraid to express the anger inside them by protesting or holding sit-ins,鈥� notes Wael Mohammad, a civil engineer and longtime Hamas critic in Gaza. He says 16 years of the Islamic Hamas鈥� intimidation tactics, as well as its use of religious faith to push its ideology, made 鈥渢he population in Gaza docile.鈥�

Now with the lack of Hamas police officers on the streets, and a reduced threat of being dragged off by its security services, people in Gaza, facing starvation, are more emboldened to criticize the movement in public. Some even curse it.

This outspokenness, however, does not mean Gazans鈥� support, in principle, for armed resistance against the Israeli occupation has lessened. Nor has their view changed that the conflict is an Israeli war against the Palestinian people.

There remains a belief among most residents that, with a 17-year siege of Gaza, they have been punished for two decades by Israel, the international community, and the Palestinian Authority for Hamas鈥� presence, and that the movement has never had the chance to act as a normal government.

Yet growing disillusion with Hamas鈥� rule is impacting the group鈥檚 future prospects each day the war goes on, as residents see it as unresponsive, irresponsible, and lacking basic care for Gaza鈥檚 people.

Evading responsibility

All those interviewed stressed that Hamas left the Gaza public 鈥渋n the dark鈥� about its plans even after Israel鈥檚 counterattack began. Added to the lack of communication was a seeming lack of concern for civilians as Hamas forces retreated to their tunnels.

鈥淗amas followed the same old war plan and left the people to the mercy of Israelis,鈥� says Walid, the aid worker.

鈥淲e gave in to Hamas for a long time, and we thought Hamas as a party would be prepared for the war after Oct. 7 as they claimed. But they were only ready to protect themselves,鈥� says Rana Alsayed, a mother and feminist activist from Gaza City who was displaced four times by Israel鈥檚 offensives.

鈥淭his war is beyond Hamas鈥� capabilities,鈥� says Ahmed, a Gaza photojournalist who blames intense targeting by Israel鈥檚 military for the movement鈥檚 inability to govern or protect its citizens. 鈥淚t cannot help itself, let alone the people.鈥�

For some Palestinians in Gaza, the war has cemented the idea of Hamas as a militant faction looking out only for itself rather than for the people it has governed since first being elected by a plurality in 2006. It has ruled unopposed since 2007, when it drove out its rival Fatah and seized the strip.

鈥淭hey see their role is to fight Israelis and not to care for the people. But since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip, they implicitly agreed to care for its people,鈥� says Walid, who, like many, sees Hamas as 鈥渆vading that responsibility.鈥�

鈥淎t least provide enough food for the people to not die of hunger. Build shelters and safe places for the people to go to. Establish a form of civic protection and law enforcement to keep people in check,鈥� the aid worker says.

鈥淭he Oct. 7 operation was nothing but a continuation of the series of political and military gambles that the movement has made since its inception, an operation that brought nothing but destruction, killing, displacement, and deportation of the residents of the Gaza Strip,鈥� says Mr. Mohammad, the civil engineer.

He likens the movement to 鈥渁 group of mercenaries and militias that do not rise to the level of a Palestinian movement鈥� and don鈥檛 鈥渃are about Palestinian blood.鈥�

He, and others, point to statements by Hamas鈥� leadership abroad at the onset of the war that it was the responsibility of the United Nations and the international community, not Hamas, to protect Gaza civilians.

Anger over aid, profiteering

With a breakdown of law and order, organized crime is increasing and aid is looted and sold on the secondary market before many can get it. And there is a growing belief that not only does Hamas bear responsibility for the looting and profiteering through its absence, but it also may be complicit or participating in it.

鈥淲e have to buy food that was sent to Gaza as aid. We hear lots of rumors that this aid was stolen under the eyes of Hamas, sometimes in complicity with people from the government,鈥� says Walid.

Mohammed, an accountant and former government employee now in Rafah, says the links between Hamas and aid theft across Gaza are 鈥渃lear.鈥�

鈥淲e cannot provide definitive proof, but who has the guns? Who has the monopoly on force in Gaza? It鈥檚 Hamas. The work of organized criminal groups wouldn鈥檛 happen without their consent,鈥� Mohammed says via WhatsApp messaging. 鈥淭hey are profiting politically and economically from our death and misery.鈥�

Dissent is also growing in the local business community. Members say they have long chafed under Hamas鈥� restrictions, appropriation of incoming materials, corruption, and wars.

They have lost businesses, farms, and homes in this war 鈥� but also have found no entity to facilitate a return of trade or even the distribution of basic aid to stave off a famine.

Despite the rising anger, fear persists amid occasional reports of mosque imams or civil society organizers being dragged off and 鈥渄isappeared鈥� by Hamas for voicing public criticism. Protesters gathering in northern Gaza were shot at by armed men.

鈥淎t the grassroots level, Hamas persists in its oppression even amid these dire circumstances,鈥� notes Mr. Naim, the businessman.

Alternatives emerging?

In the void left behind by Hamas, some Gazans are attempting to organize at the grassroots to provide services and a sense of order.

In Rafah, so-called Protection Committees 鈥� groups of local young men, dressed in matching black clothes and masks, armed with batons 鈥� are providing basic security to markets and public areas.

Mr. Naim is one of several local Gaza business owners and community leaders who are attempting to form a council to facilitate the entry and distribution of aid and goods.

They have set their sights on advocating for the border to open to resume a robust flow of aid and commerce into the besieged strip.

鈥淭he people demand resolute, clear, and strategic decisions to pave the way for stability,鈥� says Mr. Naim.

Yet attempts by the people to organize and circumvent Hamas face steep obstacles 鈥� and danger.

This week, unverified reports emerged that Hamas executed a mukhtar, or local community leader, in northern Gaza, allegedly for coordinating with the Israeli military for a separate initiative to facilitate aid.

The incident appeared to confirm what Palestinians in Gaza already knew or believed: Any Israeli involvement would delegitimize and kill any alternative group providing services in Gaza.

鈥淭he occupation鈥檚 civil administration has engaged with some community leaders and members of the private sector,鈥� notes Mr. Naim. 鈥淭his initiative is both unacceptable and risky for all involved on the Palestinian side.鈥�

While the majority of Palestinians in Gaza interviewed say they no longer want Hamas鈥� rule, a significant portion still support its existence as an armed movement. A lack of alternatives leaves Gazans unsure of their future.

鈥淚 still support Hamas as a liberation movement, but I am not satisfied with its uncalculated actions,鈥� notes Ahmed, the photojournalist.

With the losses piling up for families in Gaza facing missile strikes, famine, and profiteering, more Gazans say the idea of trusting Hamas as rulers governing the strip again is unthinkable.

鈥淚 lost my mother, my husband lost half his family, and we lost our house. My children have known nothing but wars and escalations,鈥� says Ms. Alsayed, the Gaza feminist.

鈥淗ow can my children ever believe in Hamas, who are neither providing us with a bite to eat nor allowing anyone else to do so?鈥�