‘Hamas gambled with our lives’: Gazans are now daring to speak out
Category: News & Politics
Via: krishna • one month ago • 11 commentsBy: By Taylor Luck & Fatima Abdul Karim
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S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Across the Gaza Strip – from markets to evacuee camps to social media channels – Palestinian frustration and anger with Hamas is on the rise.
Complaints began with Hamas’ apparent disregard for Gaza civilians who faced the brunt of Israel’s 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.
“Hamas didn’t warn us or give any instructions to protect or help people. I don’t know what they were thinking or what they expected people to do, but this is unacceptable for everyone in Gaza,” says Walid, an aid worker in central Gaza who declined to use his full name. “I feel that Hamas gambled with our lives at stake, and lost.”
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. “Hamas’ popularity in the Gaza Strip was waning, due to its governance failures [and] misallocation of funds,” he says. “The devastating impact of the conflict further entrenched this sentiment.”
“People 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,” notes Wael Mohammad, a civil engineer and longtime Hamas critic in Gaza. He says 16 years of the Islamic Hamas’ intimidation tactics, as well as its use of religious faith to push its ideology, made “the population in Gaza docile.
“We 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,”
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.
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Across the Gaza Strip – from markets to evacuee camps to social media channels – Palestinian frustration and anger with Hamas is on the rise.
Complaints began with Hamas’ apparent disregard for Gaza civilians who faced the brunt of Israel’s punishing military response to the Oct. 7 attack while Hamas fighters remained in tunnels.
Some remained in tunnels, while many hid themselves among the general population, which is the real cause for the high number of civilian casualties. However that number is IMO inflated for propaganda reasons, especially when the number given does not bother to point how many were Hamas operatives and militia, while for the purpose of inciting hatred of Israel is loudly states the numbers of children and women. Anyone who believes what Hamas says is nothing but a gullible fool, especially after it was proven that the bomb that hit the hospital in north Gaza was NOT as stated by Hamas to be an Israeli missile that caused 500 civilian deaths and damage to the hospital, but was in fact a misfired Islamic Jihad missile and the damage and numbers of deaths were actually much less.
Hamas didn't lose everything, they won the war of world public opinion. IMO the casualty numbers they give are inflated, as opined by an expert on such matters. LINK ->
As I said in my previous comment, only a FOOL would believe their bullshit. But their lies and exaggerations have succeeded in prompting Biden to chastise Israel and make him suck up to the American Muslims, especially in Michigan, to beg for their votes in November.
The Muslim vote in Michigan???
Yes, that’s definitely a major factor.
Someone wants to get re-elected in November— (but I’m not gonna tell you who it is!!!)
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.
Hamas looting the aid for its own militants and operatives and profiting from selling the rest at high prices is probably a major cause for the hunger that is being reported with such emphasis by the UN and governments and media in order to disparage Israel.
Unfortunately for the Gazans neither Hamas nor Israel care about their lives or well being.
The only good thing that may come about this is a different group than Hamas will take control of Gaza. The bad part is they may be worse than Hamas since Iran is the main source of money for Gaza; and they will be whomever will carry on with attacking Israel.
Israel will do it's part to make sure that Hamas 2.0 comes into being by not dropping it's blockade of Gaza; or make sure the power and water stay on at all times.; easing up travel restriction between Gaza and the West Bank. Ensuring that if outside companies invest in Gaza Israel will not destroy their businesses the second the first rocket from Gaza enters Israel after the fighting is over. If the hard core Zionists get their way in the government settlers will be reintroduced to Gaza. At best Israel will install a puppet government.
Seems Israel didn't read the part if you invade someone and remove the party in charge you are responsible for civilian well being. Outside of shuffling the Gazans around into tighter and tighter concentrations- they have done nothing to protect civilians. It is like cramming fish into a smaller and smaller barrel- and then complaining that the small fish keep getting in the way of shooting the big fish that are being targeted.
We need to get out of the ME once and for all; and stop wasting US taxpayer dollars. Maybe w/o the US there to pick winners and losers they will finally settle things among themselves.
Are you aware of the fact that there been a ceasefire in effect for quite a while until Hamas entered Israel on October 7th thereby breaking the ceasefire?
And btw you mentioned the Israeli “blockade” before Oct 7. If, in fact, there was an Israeli blockade— where did Gaza’s get their food?
Fact: Gaza is not self-sufficient when it comes to food.
so where did Gaza’s put all the dead bodies???
The Arabs haven't done if for centuries.
Even long before the U.S. was created.
So what makes you think they would do it now?
What are your thouhts, if any, on the Egyptian blockade of Gaza?