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Majority of Palestinians Still Support Oct. 7 Massacre, Want Hamas to Control Gaza After War: Poll
Palestinian terrorists ride an Israeli military vehicle that was seized by gunmen who infiltrated areas of southern Israel, in the northern Gaza Strip, Oct. 7, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ahmed Zakot
The vast majority of Palestinians still support Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel and don’t believe the terror group engaged in war crimes during its invasion of the Jewish state that left 1,200 people dead and more than 250 taken hostage, according to new polling.
The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR) on Wednesday released its latest poll about Palestinian attitudes toward Hamas, the Oct. 7 atrocities, and the ongoing war in Gaza as a whole.
It found that 71% of Palestinians believe Hamas’ decision to launch an offensive against Israel on Oct. 7 was “correct.”
Among those who live in Hamas-ruled Gaza, support for the Oct. 7 attack rose from 57 percent in December to 71 percent this month. Among those who live in the West Bank, support dropped from 82 percent to 71 percent over the same period. Palestinians saw the decision to invade Israel and massacre civilians as correct even though it precipitated a war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, created a humanitarian crisis in the coastal enclave, and did not draw other Arab states or groups into all-out war with Israel.
Palestinians who both saw videos of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack against Israeli civilians and did not see videos overwhelmingly believe the terror group did not commit atrocities. Among those who watched the videos, 81 percent said Hamas did not commit atrocities, while 17 percent said they did. When it came to those who did not see the videos, 97 percent said they did not believe Hamas committed any atrocities.
Beyond the murders and kidnappings, mounting evidence has documented Hamas’ systematic use of torture and sexual violence, including mass rape, against the Israeli people on Oct. 7.
The poll found that 70 percent of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank said they are satisfied with Hamas’ actions during the war and that 63 percent said they prefer a “day after” scenario in which Hamas remains in control of Gaza rather than the Palestinian Authority, which governs in the West Bank, or other Arab countries. Over 60 percent also said they are satisfied with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s performance during the war.
When asked about support for Palestinian political parties and movements, a plurality of 34 percent chose Hamas. The terror group’s rival, Fatah, came in second with 17 percent. Back in September, Fatah enjoyed greater support than Hamas, 26 percent to 22 percent, suggesting Hamas’ decision to attack Israel on Oct. 7 helped its perception considerably among the Palestinian public.
Sixty-four percent of Palestinians said they believe Hamas will defeat Israel in the war — a six-point drop from December but still a firm majority. This is despite the fact Israel has taken well over two-thirds of Hamas’ fighters off the battlefield and destroyed nearly all of its battalions.
In December, a PCPSR poll showed similar attitudes among Palestinians. Many Israelis see Palestinian support for terrorist groups and attacks as the primary impediment to peace.
However, there were also a few more positive findings from the latest poll. Forty-five percent of Palestinians — including 62 percent from Gaza — said they believe in a two-state solution with an independent Palestinian state existing alongside an independent Jewish state of Israel. In September, only 32 percent in Gaza and the West Bank believed in such a solution, and in December that number increased slightly to 34 percent. Additionally, the proportion of Palestinians who said “armed struggle” is the best way to achieve a Palestinian state dropped from 63 percent in December to 46 percent today — although it remains higher than in Sept. 2022, when it was at 41 percent.
PCPSR’s poll was conducted from March 5 to March 10, in face-to-face interviews with 1,580 Palestinian adults from the West Bank and Gaza in randomly selected locations. The poll had a +/- 3 percent margin of error.
The post Majority of Palestinians Still Support Oct. 7 Massacre, Want Hamas to Control Gaza After War: Poll 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.