The Great Awakening: Gazans Turn on Hamas as Hunger for Peace Eclipses Holy War

Public opinion in Gaza is increasingly turning against Hamas, with more residents supporting the terrorist organization’s disarmament as a way to end the war and begin reconstruction, according to a KAN News report citing Western intelligence findings.

The report said a majority of Gazans now back efforts to force Hamas to give up its weapons, viewing disarmament as a possible way out of years of violence, destruction and instability. According to KAN, the desire to end the war with Israel and rebuild the Strip is increasingly outweighing support for Hamas’s ideology.

The findings point to a significant shift inside Gaza, where Hamas has long maintained power through a combination of ideological support, coercion and control of civilian institutions. Western intelligence assessments cited in the report indicate that support for terrorist attacks and violent “resistance” as a means of improving conditions for Gazans has declined substantially.

The report also said most Gazans are increasingly opposed to Hamas remaining in power and are more open to alternative civilian leadership. That shift comes as the Strip remains devastated after two years of war and as reconstruction efforts remain frozen because Hamas has refused to disarm.

Under the October 2025 ceasefire framework, Hamas is required to give up its weapons as part of a process meant to end its rule in Gaza and allow reconstruction to move forward. The Washington-led Gaza Board of Peace has been holding talks with Hamas on the issue, but the negotiations have not produced an agreement.

According to a separate KAN report from May 3, talks between Hamas and the Board of Peace have reached an impasse. Board of Peace Director-General Nickolay Mladenov and Hamas representatives remain stuck on the question of disarmament, Palestinian sources told the network.

Hamas has repeatedly refused to surrender its weapons, while Israel, the United States and the Board of Peace have maintained that Gaza cannot be rebuilt while the terrorist organization remains armed. Israeli officials have said the disarmament of Gaza will happen “one way or another,” while the IDF has prepared operational plans in case fighting resumes.

The reported change in Gazan public opinion could increase pressure on Hamas, but there is no clear indication that it has changed the group’s position. Hamas continues to demand that the issue of its weapons be addressed only within a broader political framework, including steps toward a Palestinian state.

For now, the gap between Hamas’s refusal to disarm and Gazans’ growing desire for reconstruction remains one of the main obstacles to progress in the Strip.