Most Palestinians believe Hamas committed atrocities on October 7

CLAIM:

Most Palestinians acknowledge that Hamas committed atrocities against civilians during the October 7 attack.

STATUS:

False

KEY COUNTERPOINTS:

Multiple PCPSR polls conducted across a two-year period found the opposite of this claim: overwhelming majorities of Palestinians said Hamas did not commit the atrocities against civilians shown in international-media footage. This is not a single anomalous result. Poll No. 90 (November 2023), Poll No. 93 (September 2024), and Poll No. 96 (October 2025) all produced the same finding, with denial rates ranging from 86 to 90 percent. A consistent pattern across multiple polling cycles over two years is not noise.
The same polling found that most respondents said they had not seen the relevant footage, which indicates that denial was substantially shaped by information environment rather than independent evaluation of the evidence. In Poll No. 90, 85 percent said they had not seen videos showing Hamas committing atrocities. People who have not seen the evidence are not assessing the evidence. That is a crucial distinction: the polling measures what respondents say they believe, not the result of informed independent review.
PCPSR is an independent Palestinian research institution, not an Israeli or Western source. Its consistent findings across multiple polling cycles carry particular weight precisely because the institution is embedded in Palestinian society and applies rigorous methodology. If anything, that origin makes the denial finding more significant, not less: it reflects a durable information environment inside Palestinian society in which the documented reality of October 7 does not penetrate.

EVIDENCE:

Poll No. 96 (October 2025): 86 percent said Hamas did not commit the atrocities shown in international media footage, while only 10 percent said it had.
Poll No. 93 (September 2024): approximately 90 percent said Hamas did not commit the atrocities depicted in videos from October 7.
Poll No. 90 (November-December 2023): 85 percent said they had not seen videos showing Hamas committing atrocities against Israeli civilians, and only 7 percent said Hamas committed such atrocities.
The pattern is consistent across all three polling cycles, spanning more than two years from late 2023 through late 2025, which removes any argument that this was a wartime emotional spike rather than a sustained public position.

Palestinian Denial of Hamas October 7 Atrocities (PCPSR 2023–2025)

Palestinian Denial of Hamas October 7 Atrocities (PCPSR 2023–2025): Palestinian denial of Hamas atrocities opened at 85 percent in November 2023, peaked at 90 percent in September 2024, and settled at 86 percent in October 2025. The rate remained above 85 percent across the entire two-year period regardless of how much documented evidence entered public discourse. Early polling found most respondents had not seen the relevant footage, meaning the denial reflects an information-environment condition as much as active rejection.

PRIMARY SOURCES:

PCPSR, Public Opinion Poll No. 96 (28 October 2025)
https://www.pcpsr.org/en/node/1000
Most recent data point. Documents 86 percent denial of Hamas atrocities versus 10 percent acknowledgment.

“The overwhelming majority (86%) said it did not commit such atrocities.” (Poll 96)

↑↑↑ Best source!

PCPSR, Public Opinion Poll No. 93 (3-7 September 2024)
https://pcpsr.org/en/node/991
Documents approximately 90 percent denial of Hamas atrocities at the September 2024 polling point.

“almost 90% of the public believes Hamas men did not commit the atrocities.” (Poll 93)

↑↑↑ best source!

PCPSR, Public Opinion Poll No. 90 (22 November-2 December 2023) https://pcpsr.org/en/node/963
Earliest data point in the pattern. Documents that 85 percent had not seen relevant footage and only 7 percent acknowledged Hamas atrocities at the start of the conflict.

“85% have not seen videos showing atrocities committed by Hamas.” (Poll 90)

↑↑↑ mid source

STRONGEST COUNTER ARGUMENTS WORTH KNOWING:

Some respondents may have answered based on limited or filtered media access rather than deliberate denial after reviewing available evidence. The high non-exposure rate in Poll No. 90 supports this reading.
Survey wording matters: the polling measures stated belief about reported atrocities as seen in international media, not an independent forensic determination. Respondents who have not seen the footage are effectively answering a question about whether they trust international media reporting.
In wartime, identity, distrust of opposing-side narratives, and propaganda can heavily shape public perceptions on all sides. Denial in this context may reflect information environment and political identity more than a reasoned assessment of the evidence.

NOTES:

This note is about public acknowledgment only, not about the underlying historical record. The historical record of what happened on October 7 is separately documented. This note addresses a different and narrower question: what do most Palestinians say they believe about Hamas’s conduct on October 7. The polling answer is consistent and clear.

Tactical framing: the most important nuance to hold is the information-environment argument. The high non-exposure rate in the early polling means many respondents were not denying evidence they had seen. They were expressing a belief shaped by what they had and had not been exposed to. That is a different kind of denial and it matters for how the finding is framed in debate.

The PCPSR source origin is a tactical asset. If the opponent tries to dismiss the data as Western or Israeli, the response is immediate: this is an independent Palestinian institution polling Palestinians in Palestinian territory. Its findings on this question are more credible for the claim, not less.

Do not use this finding to imply that Palestinians as a population are morally complicit in October 7. The note is about measured public acknowledgment in a specific information environment. That is a sociological and epistemological finding, not a moral verdict on a population.

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