The Gaza war is eroding support for Hamas and facing growing public opposition

The man in the video is beside himself, his blood-stained face filled with fear.

“I am an academic doctor,” he says. “I had a good life, but we have a dirty (Hamas) leadership. They have become accustomed to our bloodshed, may God curse them! They are scum!”

The video – unthinkable before the Gaza war – was shot outside a hospital where hundreds of Palestinian victims were held last month after Israel carried out an operation to free hostages in central Gaza.

Seconds before the video ends, he turns to the crowd.

“I am one of you,” he says, “but you are a cowardly people. We could have prevented this attack!”

The video went viral. And it’s not the only one.

In Gaza, open criticism of Hamas is increasing, both on the streets and on the Internet.

Some publicly criticized Hamas for hiding the hostages in apartments near a busy marketplace or firing rockets from civilian areas.

Local residents told the BBC that it had become common practice to curse and swear at the Hamas leadership in the markets. Some donkey cart drivers had even named their animals after the Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, and urged the donkeys along shouting things like “Yallah, Sinwar!”

“People say things like ‘Hamas destroyed us’ or even ask God to take their lives,” one man said.

“They ask what the purpose of the October 7 attacks was – some say they were a gift to Israel.”

Some are even urging their politicians to agree to a ceasefire with Israel.

There are still Hamas supporters in the Gaza Strip, and after years of repression, it is difficult to say to what extent the group is losing support or to what extent existing opponents now feel able to express their opinions freely.

But even some on the company’s payroll are undecided.

A senior Hamas government official told the BBC that Hamas’ attacks were “a crazy, uncalculated move.”

He asked us to keep his identity secret.

“From my work with the Hamas government, I know that it was well prepared militarily for the attack, but neglected the home front,” he said.

“They have not built safe shelters for people and have not provided enough food, fuel and medical supplies. If my family and I survive this war, I will leave Gaza as soon as I have the opportunity.”

There was opposition to Hamas long before the war, but it remained largely hidden for fear of reprisals.

In the last Palestinian elections in 2006, residents of the Gaza Strip voted for Hamas in 15 of the territory’s 24 seats in the list election – in the other nine districts, voters chose another party.

A year later, Hamas violently expelled Palestinian Authority forces from the Gaza Strip, causing a serious rift with the rival Fatah movement, and seized control of the entire Gaza Strip.

Political activist Ameen Abed said he was often arrested before the war for speaking out against Hamas, but nine months later, dissent has become more common there.

“In Gaza, most people criticize Hamas’s behavior,” he said.

“You see children living in tents and the insults against their leaders have become routine. But she has a lot of support among people outside the Gaza border, who sit in their comfortable homes under air conditioning and have not lost a child, a home, a future, a leg.”

Despair and war are undermining the social structures in Gaza, and Hamas control is no longer what it once was.

Four-fifths of the Gaza Strip’s population are displaced and often have to move between makeshift shelters.

And in some places, law and order have broken down, partly due to Israel’s policy of targeting security forces in Gaza – not just Hamas’s official domestic intelligence agency, but also the municipal police responsible for street crime.

As control weakened, criminal gangs proliferated, looting neighborhoods and aid convoys, and private security firms emerged, some run by powerful local families.

An employee of an aid organization working in Gaza spoke of “absolute chaos on the streets” and a “state of anarchy.” As a result of Israeli policy, public order has completely collapsed.

The Israeli Prime Minister has repeatedly stated that he will continue the war until Hamas’s military and governmental capacities are destroyed.

But some aid organizations – both in the north and south of the Gaza Strip – also report regular checks on their activities by local Hamas officials. Videos of unofficial Hamas security forces shooting and beating looters are also circulating.

A well-informed source told the BBC that Hamas killed dozens of people in bloody reckonings with other local groups after Israeli troops withdrew from an area.

Fear of criticizing Gaza’s leadership may have diminished, but it has not disappeared entirely, so beyond individual statements it is still difficult to gauge exactly how much support for the group has changed.

Some of them, like 26-year-old Jihad Talab, are still strong supporters of Hamas.

He was displaced from Gaza’s Zeitoun neighborhood along with his wife, daughter and mother and now lives in Deir al Balah. He said the group was not responsible for their suffering.

“We must support (Hamas) because it works on the ground and understands the struggle – not you or me,” he said. “Empty accusations only serve the occupation (Israel). We will support them until our last breath.”

A regular poll by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research, a West Bank think tank, suggests that most people in Gaza still blame Israel and its allies for the war, not Hamas.

A recent poll in June found that nearly two-thirds of Gaza respondents were satisfied with Hamas – an increase of 12 percentage points from December – and that just under half would prefer Hamas to govern Gaza after the war over any other option.

These findings differ from several reports given to the BBC. Among other things, a senior Hamas official privately acknowledged that Hamas was losing support as a result of the war.

These glimpses through the gaps in the media blockade around Gaza can never provide a complete assessment of the situation. International journalists are prevented by Israel and Egypt from reporting first-hand on the situation there.

What is clear is that Hamas continues to be very sensitive to public opinion.

Strikingly similar messages regularly appear on certain social media platforms to justify the government’s actions – often apparently in response to criticism from within the country.

A source familiar with Hamas told the BBC that there was an organized international network to coordinate the group’s messaging on social media.

After Israeli families released a video showing the abduction of female soldiers by Hamas units on October 7, some in the Gaza Strip questioned whether the targeted abduction of women in war was compatible with Islamic teachings.

In response, several pro-Hamas social media accounts posted similar messages insisting that soldiers – male and female – are legitimate military targets and claiming that the unit was involved in shooting protesters during demonstrations in the Gaza Strip six years ago.

Criticism of Hamas is becoming increasingly fierce and long-hidden disagreements regarding Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip are becoming apparent.

From the destruction left by Israel’s struggle against Hamas, a new war is emerging: a struggle for control of public opinion in the Gaza Strip itself.