Born in Gaza in 1997 to a family of six children, Hamza grew up and lived his entire life in the Al-Remal area of Gaza. In 2021 he got his bachelor’s degree in accounting at the Islamic University of Gaza, and then worked as an accountant for two years before escaping Gaza in August of 2023. He speaks to The Jerusalem Post from his place in exile, where he continues to share and create pro-peace and anti-Hamas content.
Hamza participated in the 2019 demonstrations against Hamas rule that were violently quashed by Hamas, and has written since about his experiences in the Hamas prisons, where he went through different types of torture after he was accused of dissent. He also voiced an opposition to Hamas’s tyrannical rule, oppression of different freedoms, and indoctrination.
Can you describe the situation in Gaza right now?
“If there was a single word to describe the main conditions in Gaza it would be anarchy. The destruction of more than 70% of the infrastructure in Gaza resulted in more than 1.2 million people being displaced, most of them live in tents in southern Gaza in disastrous living conditions.
Hamza points to an issue unknown to many in Israel, namely that convicts were released en masse from Gaza’s jails, and that there is a lack of law enforcement in the Gaza Strip. According to Hamza, this paved the way for the establishment of several gangs working with Hamas militants to plunder humanitarian aid.
“Most people spend their days waiting for relief airdrops or in line to get food for their family. In the north (of the strip) humanitarian conditions worsened along with the loss of connection to relatives in the south or out of Gaza.”
When asked about his own family, Hamza mentions that lives in a temporary tent in Rafah, burning wood to heat their food. “When we need to communicate, they must go near Rafah Crossing for an internet connection. I hope they can escape this nightmare and find a safer location soon,” he says.
The political situation
Hamza says that Hamas was losing support in Gaza before October for a variety of reasons, including the social and economic conditions, represented in the number of immigrants who fled Gaza before the war and the anti-Hamas riots which took place in July. “The leadership of Hamas couldn’t find a better solution other than turning this anger to another enemy – Israel,” says Hamza.
“I was eight years old when the disengagement plan was implemented,” he adds, explaining that in his view, “it was the most significant step towards an independent Palestinian state in decades. I still remember how people in Gaza welcomed it and the ceasefire that ended more than five years of enmity between the Palestinian Authority and Israel,” Hamza reminisces, referring to the Second Intifada and Israeli Operation Defensive Shield.
However, Hamza also stresses that Hamas succeeded in branding the disengagement plan as a “victory” for the resistance, rather than a result of peace efforts or a push towards peace, which he attributes to a lack of a clear strategy and coordination.
Referring to Hamas’s victory in the 2006 elections and the bloody rebellion against Fatah which it entailed, Hamza adds: “Hamas’s revolution was unavoidable given the Palestinian Authority’s corruption and how they turned a blind eye to Hamas’s acts while recruiting, arming, and managing various organizations in Gazan society. Many of this war’s most significant hurdles, including the Hamas tunnels, are the result of postponing the solution by closing Gaza. Hamas reintroduced the idea of creating tunnels, not only for smuggling goods and weapons, but also as a military tactic.”
Hamza shares his criticism of past Israeli operations in Gaza. “The problem with the past Israeli operations is that they weren’t serious enough to put an end to Hamas. That gave Hamas 17 years to expand their tunnels under almost every house and every street in Gaza; they became like cancer. Now both Palestinians and Israelis are paying for this,” he adds somberly.
“I witnessed multiple Hamas crimes in Gaza, but what occurred on October 7th was far worse than any of them. I can’t see it as anything but a cruel attack on humanity,” Hamza says, and adds: “While I support the goal of removing Hamas, I am opposed to many of the IDF’s actions that could save many lives, as well as statements made by some Israeli authorities during the battle. Eliminating Hamas is crucial, but saving the lives of both innocent Gazans and Israeli hostages is also critical.”
“None of what has happened or is happening would be relevant without a plan for the day after,” he stresses, adding that the plan should be “developed by Israel, the restructured Palestinian Authority, the United States, and some Arab countries to avoid the mistakes made in the 2005 disengagement plan.”
How do you view a path to a solution for the conflict in general?
“It’s not easy to give an answer for a question like this, but I believe that peace and coexistence won’t be applicable by one party,” Hamza answers thoughtfully. “For that to happen, the Palestinian side should take significant steps to de-radicalize the society starting by reforming the educational system, renewal of religious discourse, and to invest their budget in providing jobs for their people. On the other hand, the Israeli government must be committed to withdraw from Gaza, West bank, and East Jerusalem.”
On the issue of de-radicalization, Hamza adds: “If you told anyone that Germany would be de-nazified 90 years ago or the UAE would be de-radicalized 10 years ago, they wouldn’t believe you. With the proper reforming of education and the renewal of religious discourse, I believe it can be accomplished. In my opinion, we should learn from the UAE’s experience on that and start making genuine efforts for rehabilitation, producing counter-content against terrorism, and providing them with more jobs to not be exploited by terrorists for money.”
Are your views unique to your environment? Or do you think they represent a consensus?
“Feeding my people jihadist propaganda for 17 years was enough to influence their thoughts about peace, to the point that calling for cohabitation seemed strange and undesirable. Still, many people believed in it, but the consequences and Hamas’s accusation of treason contributed to the silence and terrorization of many others,” adds Hamza.
When asked about the active participation of Gazan civilians in looting, holding hostages and beating kidnapped Israelis in the streets, as well as the viral scenes of celebration of the massacre and the videos of Gazans still rooting for Hamas, Hamza replies:
“There is no doubt that Hamas managed to build a base of supporters in Gaza who were radicalized by listening, reading, and watching Hamas’s agenda for years and believed Hamas leaders’ narrative that ‘there are no innocents in Israel.’ I feel ashamed because of them, and I’m even afraid to return to Gaza because of them. I want the people of Israel to know that there are many individuals in Gaza, including myself, who are opposed to these atrocities; if I were in Gaza, I would not talk about it, and many others would die if they did. Do not lose your hope in peace because of Hamas; it’s exactly what they want.”
Still, you portray some unique thoughts in comparison with the environment you grew up in. Do you consider yourself as having gone through a process of de-radicalization yourself?
“I consider what happened to me as an individual experience. It started when I read a book titled ‘Islamic Fascism’ by the great author Abdel-Samad Hamed. I continued by learning about the Holocaust, and the history of Antisemitism. I was shocked about what the Jews had to go through. Then I went on to read about the common history of Jews and Arabs on this territory and about Jewish history of thousands of years, which I had never heard about before. After that, I vowed to disregard all I had heard about the Israelis and begin listening to them. I currently have numerous Israeli friends, both to discuss the Palestinian-Israeli issue and as personal pals.”
What would be your message to our readers?
“First and foremost, I’d like to express my heartfelt sympathies to the families of those killed, as well as my solidarity with all of the victims and hostage families. Unlike what the Arabic media portrays, not all Gazans are Hamas or support their crimes; we are all victims of hate ideology. If there was only one motive to advocate for peace, it would be to deny these terrorists a chance and to finish the struggle with our generation.”