[Doctorfever]

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0vewvp14zdo

Open criticism of Hamas has been growing in Gaza, both on the streets and online.
Some have publicly criticised Hamas for hiding the hostages in apartments near a busy marketplace, or for firing rockets from civilian areas.
Residents have told the BBC that swearing and cursing against the Hamas leadership is now common in the markets, and that some drivers of donkey carts have even nicknamed their animals after the Hamas leader in Gaza - Yahya Sinwar - urging the donkeys forward with shouts of "Yallah, Sinwar!"
“People say things like, ‘Hamas has destroyed us’ or even call on God to take their lives,” one man said.

Ameen Abed, a political activist, said he had been arrested many times for speaking out against Hamas before the war, but said - nine months on - dissent was becoming more common there.
“In Gaza, most people criticise what Hamas has done,” he said.

Fear of criticising Gaza’s leaders might have lessened, but it hasn’t gone, so it is still hard to accurately gauge, beyond individual testimony, how far support for the group is shifting.
Some, like 26-year-old Jihad Talab, still strongly support Hamas.
Displaced from the Zeitoun area of Gaza City with his wife, daughter and mother, and now sheltering in Deir al Balah, he said the group was not responsible for their suffering.
“We must support [Hamas] because it’s the one working on the ground, the one who understands the battle - not you or I,” he said. “Empty accusations only serve the Occupation [Israel]. We’ll support it until our last breath.”

A regular poll carried out by a West Bank-based think tank, the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research, claims that most people in Gaza still blame Israel and its allies for the war, rather than Hamas.
The latest survey in June said that almost two-thirds of Gazan respondents were satisfied with Hamas - a rise of 12 points from December - and suggested that just around half would still prefer Hamas to run Gaza after the war ends, over any other option.

Glimpses through chinks in the media blockade around Gaza can never give a full assessment of the situation. International journalists are barred by Israel and Egypt from reporting on the situation there first-hand.
What is clear is that Hamas remains very sensitive to public opinion.
Strikingly similar messages regularly appear on certain social media platforms to justify its actions, often apparently in response to criticism at home.
A source familiar with Hamas told the BBC there was an organised international network to co-ordinate social media messaging for the group.

Criticism of Hamas is growing sharper, and long-buried divisions over Hamas rule in Gaza are becoming clear.
Out of the destruction left by Israel’s battle with Hamas, a new war is emerging: a battle for control of public opinion within Gaza itself.

Support for Hamas appears to be eroding in Gaza. The civilians are the ones paying the price for what Hamas and Israel have done on Oct 7th up until now.

Even with misinformation being spread around Gaza, the civilian support for Hamas seems to be weakening, which is a good thing in my opinion.

After this battle ends, and hopefully Hamas is eliminated, hopefully there can be a peace treaty between Gaza and Israel that give the people of Gaza some hope and a brighter future that what they are currently facing.