Gazan civilians still living in Gaza who have been in contact with the Israeli military are piling scorn on Hamas and encouraging the Israeli military to remove the terror group from power, in audio recordings released by the Israel Defense Forces on Sunday.
The Gazans were talking to Arab-speaking officers of Unit 504, which specializes in human intelligence. Through social media and leaflets dropped in the Strip, the IDF has encouraged Gazans to call the military if they have information about the whereabouts of the 136 hostages being held or top Hamas leaders. Israel has already offered a $400,000 reward for information leading to the capture of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
But now, Gazan are calling simply to vent their anger at Hamas and encourage the Israelis to continue their offensive.
One Gazan called the Hamas leaders “dogs” before vowing they would be cursed by Allah.
“Listen, listen to what the people around me are saying, may Allah protect us from you, Hamas,” the Gazan told the Israeli officer. “Allah will curse them, Allah will curse them and those that voted for them.”
He went on to add that Hamas “destroyed us, pushed us 100 years into the past. May Allah bring disaster upon them. Our people are their hostages. Those dogs are taking advantage of their power over us.”
Another Gazan told an Israeli officer, “Tell your leaders: Hamas people are abroad, outside of Palestine, screw them outside of Palestine, kill them.”
He added, “I am telling you in the name of our nation. I am sitting alone, and I’m screwed. Everything’s destroyed. They’re all abroad, sitting around in hotels. F**k them up. Curse their fathers. Sitting around in hotel rooms.”
At least 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on Oct. 7. The number of men, women, children, soldiers and foreigners held captive in Gaza by Hamas is now believed to be 136. Other people remain unaccounted for as Israeli authorities continue to identify bodies and search for human remains.