Hamas appears to have questionable support within the devastated Gaza Strip among the 2.3 million Palestinian civilians withering under Israel’s excoriating offensive. 

New poll results published by the Institute for Social and Economic Progress (ISEP) think tank on Wednesday showed that fear, hopelessness, and anger are roiling Gazans. The survey results included responses from 1,000 Palestinian adults—600 in the West Bank and 400 in Gaza—polled between March 3 and 10. 

Hamas’ two most prominent leaders polled badly in the ISEP survey. Ismail Haniyeh, the group’s top political leader who resides in Qatar, has the support of around 22 percent of Gazans. Around 78 percent of Gazans say they are opposed to Haniyeh. Yahya Sinwar—the group’s leader inside Gaza who has so far evaded Israeli forces—has the support of 23.5 percent. Almost 77 percent say they are in opposition to Sinwar. The leaders poll better among West Bank respondents, of whom nearly 45 percent said they support Haniyeh and more than 65 percent Sinwar. 

Only a very small majority of Gazans told ISEP they wanted Hamas to win. Just 3 percent said they would choose continued Hamas rule after the fighting stops, with 34 percent preferring a unity government of all Palestinian factions—including Hamas—and around 45 percent expressing support for PA control. 

The picture is less damning for Hamas in another poll released this week, surveying 1,580 adults—830 in the West Bank and 750 in the Gaza Strip—and conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR) between March 5 and 10. 

The PCPSR results found that most Gazans (71 percent) believed Hamas was correct to launch its October 7 attack. Fifty-six percent said they believed Hamas would emerge victorious from the war, while 52 percent said they would choose continued Hamas control of the Strip. Sixty-two percent told PCPSR they were satisfied with Hamas’ performance in the current conflict, and 52 percent said they were satisfied with Sinwar. 

Still, PCPSR noted that support for Hamas has declined in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip versus previous polls, even if respondents support some of the group’s actions. “It is clear from the findings however, that support for the offensive does not mean support for Hamas,” the report read. 

PCPSR’s results showed that support for Hamas as a political party rose among Gazans from 22 percent in September to 42 percent in December before slipping back to 34 percent in March. 

Israel launched its latest war on Gaza after Hamas’ October 7 surprise infiltration attack, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 253 taken back into the Strip as hostages. Around 100 remain unaccounted for, along with the bodies of 32 captives believed to have already died. 

The subsequent assault on Gaza has killed at least 31,819 Palestinians, per data from the Strip’s health ministry cited by the Associated Press. Another 435 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli security forces and settlers in the West Bank since October 7, per Associated Press figures. 

Swathes of Gaza have been razed, and the vast majority of its 2.3 million residents have been forced to flee their homes. Scant humanitarian aid has been delivered into the Strip despite growing international pressure on Israel to facilitate more, with the United Nations and a host of NGOs warning that famine is imminent.

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