Hamas murdered 1200 Israelis and kidnapped 250 others. Here's how they convinced the world they are the victims

When Hamas launched its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, killing over 1,200 people, raping, kidnapping 250, and looting communities, the world was horrified. Leaders condemned the slaughter, and headlines screamed of terrorism.

Yet, within weeks, the story flipped: Gaza became the victim, Israel the aggressor, with slogans like “All Eyes on Rafah” dominating social media.

How did Hamas, the group that kicked off the violence, manage this? It’s a mix of slick propaganda, global alliances, media frenzy, and human psychology, honed over years of playing the underdog in a lopsided fight.

Hamas knew Israel’s retaliation would hit hard, so they leaned into their victim story. Their health ministry in Gaza churns out casualty numbers, like the claim of over 40,000 dead by mid-2024, which news outlets repeat without verifying or noting how many were fighters versus civilians.

These stats paint Israel as ruthless, even if Hamas’s numbers are shaky. Then come the visuals: photos of bombed out buildings, bloodied children, and weeping families, shared by Hamas allies on X, TikTok, and Instagram.

The “All Eyes on Rafah” campaign, sparked by an AI generated image of a tent city during Israel’s May 2024 Rafah push, racked up millions of shares, burying memories of October 7’s atrocities. Hamas sells its attacks as resistance to Israel’s occupation, a line that clicks with people who see Israel as the stronger power. This lets them sidestep blame for things like stashing rockets in schools or fighting from packed neighborhoods, tactics the UN and others have criticized but rarely highlight.

The media and social media turbocharged this shift. Early on, Hamas’s rampage was front page news, but the 24/7 cycle quickly pivoted to Israel’s airstrikes and ground invasion. Pallywood was working overtime, churning out more AI generated videos of massacred children, with three legs or mismatched bodies or children that suddenly moved during filming. But the world didn't bother to look too hard, eating it up like some long-lost treasure.

Images of Gaza’s rubble filled screens, while Hamas’s crimes slipped out of focus. Some Western outlets, long skeptical of Israel’s policies like the "West Bank occupation" or Gaza blockade, ran with stories of Palestinian suffering, often skipping how Hamas started the war or keeps it going by rejecting ceasefires.

On social platforms, short, emotional posts about Gaza’s humanitarian toll, tagged with #FreePalestine or #AllEyesOnRafah, went viral, driven by influencers, activists, and automated accounts. These drowned out longer debates about Hamas’s terrorism, like its 2017 charter calling for Israel’s destruction.

Hamas and its backers, including Iran and Qatar, also push unverified claims, like exaggerated death tolls or tales of Israeli massacres, to keep Israel on the defensive. Qatar’s Al Jazeera, hosting Hamas leaders in Doha, loves to sell the image of the group as freedom fighters, and people, already prone to Jew hatred, lap it up.

Hamas’s global friends give it a big boost. Iran supplies weapons and cash, Qatar funds Gaza’s infrastructure and hosts Hamas’s top brass, and Turkey offers diplomatic cover. Qatar’s influence, through Al Jazeera and UN lobbying, helps show Hamas as a legitimate resistance group, swaying resolutions at the UN General Assembly, where Israel often faces lopsided votes.

This story finds a ready audience in the Global South, where Israel’s seen as a Western outpost, and among Western progressives, who tie Palestine to fights against racism or colonialism. The BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement and 2024 protests at universities like Columbia kept Gaza’s cause loud, completely ignoring Hamas’s role or its October 7 massacres. Hamas benefits even when its rocket attacks on Israeli civilians or use of human shields get less scrutiny.

Human nature helped Hamas’s case. Gaza’s poverty, worsened by a 17 year blockade with Egypt, makes it easy to see Palestinians as outmatched against Israel’s drones and jets. Higher death tolls in Gaza, driven partly by Hamas’s tactic of embedding fighters in civilian areas, make Israel’s response look brutal, even if Hamas’s choices up the body count.

People also fixate on what’s new: Israel’s months long campaign to root out Hamas’s tunnels and bases kept Gaza in the headlines, while October 7 faded for many outside Israel. Some newsrooms (like the Times of Israel) and diplomats treat both sides as equally at fault, softening Hamas’s responsibility and zooming in on Israel’s bigger, more visible strikes.

International groups and nonprofits added fuel. The UN’s relief agency UNRWA and Human Rights Council regularly call out Israel’s actions, like airstrikes hitting civilian areas, but say less about Hamas’s attacks or its use of hospitals and mosques as command posts.

UN reports on Gaza’s hunger and displacement get wide coverage, while Hamas’s tactics, documented by the IDF and independent investigators, stay in the shadows. Groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch face accusations of tilting against Israel, pushing Hamas’s version of events. Hamas also pushes legal fights, like South Africa’s January 2024 genocide charge against Israel at the International Court of Justice, which, even without a clear ruling, kept global attention on Israel’s response, not Hamas’s trigger.

Israel stumbled in fighting back. It held off sharing graphic evidence of October 7, like Hamas bodycam videos or victim accounts, due to ongoing probes and respect for families, letting Hamas tell its version of the early story.

Its airstrikes, targeting Hamas’s tunnel network and weapon caches, leveled parts of Gaza, handing critics vivid images to exploit. Explaining urban warfare, where Hamas hides under civilian homes, doesn’t fit neat news clips. Israel’s strained ties with allies, like debates over its 2023 judicial overhaul or West Bank settlements, plus its heavy reliance on U.S. support, make it a target for those who see it as a symbol of Western overreach.

Hamas didn’t need to sway everyone, just enough people to tilt the conversation.

Their “resistance” pitch is simpler than Israel’s case, which needs explaining decades of rocket fire and Hamas’s vow to erase Israel. The U.S., UK, and parts of Europe still back Israel’s right to defend itself with aid and vetoes at the UN Security Council, and Hamas has taken military hits, with the IDF claiming over 15,000 fighters killed by late 2024. Some Gazans grumble about Hamas prioritizing tunnels over schools or hospitals. But Hamas’s PR win, turning global outrage into Gaza’s spotlight, shows their knack for spinning their own violence into victimhood.