Gaza's desperate voice breaks forth - but this time people aren't listening

Arab citizens of Gaza have poured out their hatred for Hamas, condemning the terrorist group for its violence, corruption and tyranny. Their desperate voices were heard for the first time in a remarkable report from the northern Gaza Strip broadcast this week on Israeli TV's Channel 12. But few outside Israel will have heard these vital testimonies of their suffering in Gaza. Why haven't the BBC, Sky News, CNN or other Western media outlets managed to deliver the perspectives of Gazans in a similarly unfiltered manner, despite massive interest in their plight? Why has no major Western outlet managed to produce this kind of raw insight? These are voices which literally beg to be heard, vying and shouting to the reporter as he walks alongside them. Western journalists have failed those suffering in Gaza by not sharing their desperate pleas to defeat Hamas with the wider international audience.

Ohad Hemo, a fluent Arabic-speaking Israeli journalist, reported from within Gaza, bringing to the forefront voices of residents who are openly denouncing Hamas for the devastation and despair wrought upon their lives. Remarkably, Hemo's approach-interviewing civilians fleeing Jabaliya, one of Hamas' most fortified 'refugee camps' (before the war, it actually resembled a city)-has revealed a level of candid criticism from Gazans themselves that Western audiences have seldom encountered.

The fact that these Gazans are willing to speak openly against Hamas, many for the first time and without hiding their faces, is itself an indicator of Hamas' weakening grip and the erosion of its once-terrifying authority. Yet even among those now cursing Hamas as the architect of their suffering are likely some who may have cheered or even celebrated Hamas' actions on October 7. This dramatic shift in sentiment underscores both the depth of their disillusionment and the extent of Hamas' diminishing power over Gaza's residents.

The BBC and other outlets have had opportunities. The corporation's own Gaza correspondent, who lived and worked there on 7th October 2023, opted to leave for Turkey a few months into the war. So much for the broadcaster's complaints that Israel had prevented them from reporting on the ground. Even reporting from outside the Strip, from Hamas-sympathising Turkey, his contacts and language skills could easily have allowed him to field such testimonies from his fellow Gazans. Yet the BBC never once realised this opportunity to pursue the truth with the same directness. Ohad Hemo, and Israel, went in with the IDF, just as Western journalists have on numerous occasions, and spoke directly to those living in the Strip.

The Gazans interviewed do not hold back in expressing their anger toward Hamas, condemning the organisation as the true source of their suffering. One woman, visibly shaken, curses Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, saying, "May God take revenge on you, Yahya Sinwar-may God burn you in the grave." Others, crowding around to speak on camera, echoed this sentiment, blaming Hamas for turning Gaza into a place of hunger and fear. In a particularly impactful exchange, one man said, "Hamas brought a Nakba (disaster) on us; we are a poor people," before calling on Israel to take control of Gaza and provide governance.

One desperate woman shrieks into the microphone: "Hamas are Shiites, murderers, bloodsuckers. They are not our children, they're mercenaries. They should leave us alone. What more do they want, what's left in the Strip for Hamas to want? We don't want Hamas! Tell them to leave us alone! My son was killed. What did he do wrong? My son is not Hamas... The Hamas traitors did this to theGaza Strip. If I see a Hamas terrorist I'll rip him to shreds. Hamas took my son! Where did they take him? Why did Hamas take my son away from me? What did he do to them? What have they done to the Gaza Strip?"

Hemo's interviews, conducted in the midst of Israel's operations in northern Gaza, are remarkable in that they capture a populace unafraid to assign blame squarely on Hamas. From one man, Hemo heard a mixture of desperation and surprising allegiance to Israel: "Exterminate Hamas from the world! We are with you! All good comes from you-you are the blessing." Statements like these are deeply significant. While naively credulous international narratives often depict Hamas as a defender of Palestinians, the residents of Gaza tell a different story, one of betrayal, resentment, and deprivation.

In stark contrast to Hamas, the Israeli soldiers securing the evacuation route were documented offering aid to those fleeing Jabaliya. One Gazan, visibly moved by the soldiers' conduct, said, "I see the soldiers handing out water to children and women-this shows that they have humanity. Hamas would not give us a drop of water; they would let us stay thirsty."

Among the many insights gathered, perhaps the most telling was the desire for Israeli governance. As one resident articulated, they are yearning for stability, for a civil authority to "rule, manage life, education, infrastructure, health" in a way Hamas has consistently failed to do. He even mentioned that he expected the war to end only once Israel secured the return of hostages taken on 7th October, demonstrating an understanding of Israel's perspective on the conflict that might surprise those demanding Israel cease fighting for its people's return. While such views are rarely aired in the international media, they are critical to any comprehensive understanding of the conflict's human toll.

All this marks a sharp contrast to typical Western media portrayals of Gaza, which often focus heavily on the suffering caused by Israeli military actions while offering little insight into the role Hamas plays in exacerbating this suffering. Without doubt, Israel's military action has taken a massive toll on the Strip. But without balanced reporting, the world's understanding of Gaza will remain incomplete, even misleading.These are details that international audiences deserve to know not only as Israeli claims, but as anguished accounts from those who have experienced it first hand.

These desperate souls, many of them crippled by Hamas brutality, see the terror group as an antagonist that has abandoned its people. Civilians described Hamas' brutal tactics, including reports of food and aid confiscation, shooting of those who resist, and even violent suppression of dissent through intimidation. As one resident succinctly put it, "The situation is difficult-may God deal with those who uprooted us and killed us. Hamas killed us."

The voices of Gaza cannot be accurately represented if they are selectively filtered, repressed, or simply ignored to suit the whims and fantasies of shameless ideologues who wish above all else to demonise Israel, even at the expense of telling the truth.