Poll Finds Half of Gazans Endorse Hamas’s October 7 Massacre, as Palestinian Support for Terror Group Surges

By: Fern Sidman

A staggering new poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) has revealed that 50% of Gaza’s residents believe Hamas’s decision to launch its October 7, 2023, massacre in Israel was “correct.” The survey, whose findings were published this week, has drawn renewed concern about the entrenched radicalization among Palestinians and the uphill battle Israel faces in dismantling support for terrorism across the region.

The Jewish News Syndicate (JNS), citing the PSR’s data, emphasized the alarming level of endorsement among Palestinians for the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust. Conducted between May 1 and 4, the survey included a representative sample of 1,270 Palestinians in Gaza, Judea, and Samaria, and carries a margin of error of 3.5%.

This polling coincides with the Israeli Cabinet’s greenlighting of “Operation Gideon’s Chariot”—an intensified military campaign aimed at crushing Hamas and rescuing the remaining 59 Israeli hostages, who have now been held for more than 570 days in Gaza’s tunnel networks.

The survey paints a grim picture of the ideological climate in Gaza and beyond. According to the report at JNS, 85% of Palestinians in Judea and Samaria and 64% in Gaza oppose disarming Hamas as a prerequisite for ending the war. This, despite overwhelming evidence of Hamas’s crimes, including the slaughter of 1,200 Israelis, predominantly civilians, and the abduction of 251 hostages during the coordinated assault on October 7.

The JNS report noted that support for Hamas extends beyond tactical considerations. A full 40% of Palestinians surveyed believe Hamas is the organization “most deserving” of leading the Palestinian people. Furthermore, 43% said they would vote for Hamas in hypothetical legislative elections—compared to just 28% for Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah, despite the P.A. holding sway over much of Judea and Samaria.

When asked to choose between Abbas and Hamas figurehead Khaled Mashaal in a potential presidential runoff, 68% said they would back Mashaal, a man designated as a terrorist by the U.S. and Europe. Only 25% would vote for Abbas, a sharp indication of the Palestinian Authority’s growing irrelevance and unpopularity among its constituents.

One of the most jarring insights highlighted by JNS is that nearly three-quarters of Palestinians rejected the notion that the release of the Israeli hostages would bring an end to the conflict and a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. This refusal to view the hostage crisis as central to the war’s continuation reflects both the dehumanization of Israelis and a strategic shift among the Palestinian public toward indefinite conflict.

In yet another disturbing metric, 65% of respondents opposed the removal of Hamas leadership as a condition for ending the war, while only 31% supported such a move—despite the group’s role in instigating the bloodshed and its ongoing use of civilians as human shields.

While support for the Palestinian Authority and Fatah continues to erode, the survey found that 75% of respondents expressed satisfaction with Hamas’s performance in the war—a 5-point increase from similar polling conducted in March.

As reported by JNS, this surge in support comes even as Gaza suffers catastrophic damage, economic collapse, and humanitarian crisis—conditions caused largely by Hamas’s militarization of civilian infrastructure, including schools, mosques, and hospitals. Yet, rather than turn against their oppressors, a significant segment of the Palestinian population appears to have embraced Hamas’s ideology of violent “resistance.”

A December poll cited by JNS likewise revealed that two-thirds of Palestinians across Gaza and Judea-Samaria supported Hamas’s inclusion—or even leadership—in any future Palestinian governing authority. Even amid the carnage of war, 17% said they preferred Hamas to solely rule Gaza, a chilling indication of how entrenched the terror group’s influence has become.

As Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz recently announced, “Operation Gideon’s Chariot” will involve the full evacuation of Gaza’s population to the southern part of the Strip, with the IDF maintaining a permanent presence in each area captured to prevent Hamas’s return.

This military strategy reflects a sobering realization: military victory alone may not be sufficient to root out Hamas’s influence if the Palestinian population continues to embrace its narrative of jihad, martyrdom, and resistance.

For Israel and its allies, the PSR poll represents more than a snapshot of public opinion—it is a warning. As JNS report indicated, the war is not just about territory or hostages—it is about ideas. So long as half of Gaza’s population and large swaths of Palestinians elsewhere continue to view mass murder as a legitimate political tool, the pathway to peace remains obstructed by deeply ingrained hatred.

This most recent PSR poll, reported by JNS, should be a wake-up call for the international community. Efforts to “rebuild Gaza” or “empower Palestinian governance” must begin with a reckoning over the ideological extremism that remains firmly rooted among the population.

Until that transformation occurs—until a majority of Palestinians reject terror, hostage-taking, and mass murder as political strategies—true peace and coexistence will remain tragically out of reach.