Gazan Social Media Influencers Who Celebrated Oct. 7th Begin To Change Their Tune

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — One of the major barometers measuring public morale during a time of war is social media, and the influencers who set the tone are the leaders in this respect. This is also a way to ascertain public opinion in Gaza regarding the Hamas offensive and Israel’s lethal response.

One of the major social influencers in Gaza is Saleh Aljafarawi. On October 7, he posted a video of himself cheering against the backdrop of rockets being fired toward Israel from near his home. A few days later, he posted another video in which he was seen crying and scared, saying that his close family members were killed in IDF attacks. Israeli PR mogul Yoseph Haddad posted the videos on his instagram page with the captions “How it started” and “How its going”.

 

הצגת פוסט זה באינסטגרם

 

‏‎פוסט משותף על ידי ‏‎יוסף חדאד – Yoseph Haddad‎‏ (@‏‎yosephhaddad‎‏)‎‏

In a thread on X (formerly Twitter), Daniel Wachtel is compiling posts made by Gazans at the start of the war compared to their thoughts two months later. For many Gazans, the result is a bleak picture that illustrates the gap between their cheering for the terrible massacre carried out by Hamas on October 7 and the  current situation they find themselves in.

Hussein Jamal wrote exultantly on Oct. 7th that “Our hearts are with everyone pulling the trigger”. Two months later he was more dispirited, writing “By G-d, there is no more room for all of this sadness.”

Ahmed Balousha also rejoiced at the Hamas attack, stating “The sword grapples with the sword, we are the men of Mohammed Deif [Hamas’s military chief].” In a recent post, he lamented “Who can send me 5000$ so that I can get out of Gaza? I’m not joking.”

Silwan, an influencer who has garnered 42,000 followers on Instagram, praised Hamas for the attack on October 7. In a post on X, she wrote that despite the “frightening” event, “my happiness knows no bounds.”

As the days passed and the IDF began operations in the Strip, it seemed that Silwan was starting to change her mind and understand how the event affects her life, her family’s life, and the lives of her friends.

In one of Silwan’s posts since the start of the war, she wrote: “The realization that there are some messages that will never be answered.” In her latest post on X, she wrote: “I don’t know how they conquered this country; may Allah curse those who gave them weapons and left us defenseless.” Silwan, 29, added to her account the caption “R.I.P – rest in peace” a nod to the possibility that she might be killed during the war.

Some are openly critical of Hamas. Gaza Feed writes “may you be cursed for what you did to this nation. You have brought us back 100 years. You didn’t build Gaza but rather the toil and labor of people over the years which you have wantonly wasted. You have ruined and uprooted us. A curse on you! Those who don’t like this can take my place.”

Fouad Anwar remarked somberly that “The only place that you can get to easily as a Palestinian national is the cemetery,” but later added: “Sorry ,many of our people are buried under the rubble and nobody is burying them or taking them to the cemetery.”

Anas Matar, a civil engineer and student of architecture and building restoration, has over 60,000 followers on X. He also celebrated the massacre, and on October 7, posting a picture of a dead IDF soldier and writing: “A soldier lies dead at our feet.”

Today, Anas sees Hamas’ terror attack in a different light. “While you encourage and celebrate because of the videos and the resistance’s achievements, I’ve been looking for shelter for my people in Gaza since morning, after the tanks approached them. My family has two options: siege and death or displacement,” he wrote.

Anas also shared his experience in the days that have passed since the war began. “As usual, clashes intensify during the night, and the sounds of the tanks become very loud. Artillery shelling becomes an alarm clock. We fall asleep once and wake up 10 times, close our eyes to rest and wake up to the sounds of loud explosions and bombings.”