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Hamas Falsified Polling Data to Indicate Higher Support for Oct. 7 Among Gaza Civilians, IDF Says
Palestinians gather near damage, following what Palestinians say was an Israeli strike at a tent camp in Al-Mawasi area, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 13, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that runs Gaza, has been secretly fabricating polling results from civilians of the war-torn enclave in order to hide that the Islamist organization enjoys far less support than previously thought, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The IDF revealed on Thursday that it obtained documents in Gaza showing that Hamas falsified polling data from the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR). The IDF said that it found the documents while conducting military operations in Gaza.
“The IDF just exposed Hamas for manipulating public opinion surveys by the Palestinian polling institute (PSR) to fake support for its leaders, especially after the October 7 massacre,” the IDF posted on X/Twitter.
#busted : The IDF just exposed Hamas for manipulating public opinion surveys by the Palestinian polling institute (PSR) to fake support for its leaders, especially after the October 7 massacre.
The documents, found during operations in Gaza, show how Hamas altered PSR’s March… pic.twitter.com/Y2AoAy1bBv
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) August 29, 2024
According to the IDF, the March 2024 polling results were doctored by Hamas “to falsely boost Yahya Sinwar’s popularity,” referring to the terrorist group’s top leader.
A striking 71 percent of Palestinians in Gaza said that Hamas was “correct” in its “decision to attack Israel on October 7th,” according to the allegedly faked polling data. In reality, 31 percent of Gazans expressed support for the Oct. 7 attacks, according to what the IDF characterized as the accurate polling data, representing a difference of roughly 40 percentage points.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas slaughtered roughly 1,200 people throughout southern Israel, captured roughly 250 hostages, and engaged in a systematic rape campaign against women.
Only 23 percent of Gazans indicated that Hamas made the “incorrect” decision to execute the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, according to the original data. In contrast, over 64 percent of Gazans responded that Hamas made the wrong decision to attack Israel, according to the allegedly accurate data.
The purportedly fabricated polling results suggested that a plurality of Gazans support the use of violence to achieve “Palestinian goals.” The authentic polling data indicated far higher support for non-violent methods, the IDF said.
According to the allegedly fabricated polling results, 39 percent of Gazans support engaging in “armed activity” against Israel. Comparatively, according to the faked data, only 23 percent and 27 percent of respondents believe Palestinians should pursue their goals through “political negotiations” and “non-violent popular resistance,” respectively.
Almost 50 percent of Palestinians in Gaza support engaging in “political negotiations” with Israel, according to the authentic polling data, and nearly 21 percent of Gazans support “non-violent popular resistance.” Only 28 percent of Gazans back “armed activity” against the Jewish state, the same polling data showed.
Moreover, the allegedly authentic polling data suggested that Palestinians are far less bullish on Hamas’s chances of defeating Israel than previously thought.
The faked data indicated that 56 percent of Gazans believe Hamas would “win” the ongoing war in Gaza. The same data set also showed that 18 percent of Gaza civilians think that Israel will defeat Hamas.
In what the IDF described as the accurate data set, only 30 percent of Gaza civilians believe the terrorist group will trounce the Jewish state, and more than 51% of Gazans think that Israel will defeat Hamas.
The IDF argued that the Hamas terrorist group doctored the polling results to bolster the appearance of its own popularity, noting there’s no evidence to suggest PSR was complicit.
“There’s no evidence PSR was involved — Hamas did this on its own. This just proves how far Hamas is willing to go to keep up the appearance of strength,” IDF posted on X/Twitter.
The data appears to undermine the belief that the vast majority of Palestinians support Hamas and its Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel.
The post Hamas Falsified Polling Data to Indicate Higher Support for Oct. 7 Among Gaza Civilians, IDF Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.