A powerful essay published by The New York Times is drawing attention for presenting a truth that much of the Western media and pro-Palestinian movement have spent years avoiding: Hamas has devastated Gaza, betrayed its residents and must be permanently removed from power.

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, who was born and raised in Gaza, describes how the terrorist organization systematically destroyed the foundations of a potentially prosperous Palestinian society.

According to Alkhatib, Hamas behaved like a violent criminal organization from its earliest days, brutalizing Palestinian women, torturing suspected opponents and deliberately murdering Israeli civilians in suicide bombings.

The terror group’s October 7, 2023 massacre then plunged Gaza into an unprecedented catastrophe. Hamas invaded southern Israel, murdered civilians, abducted hostages and knowingly triggered a devastating war that would be fought inside Gaza’s densely populated neighborhoods.

Alkhatib lost numerous members of his own family during the conflict. Yet instead of excusing Hamas or shifting all responsibility onto Israel, he places blame where much of the Western activist class refuses to place it: on the terrorists who launched the war and embedded themselves among Gaza’s civilian population.

His conclusion is unequivocal. Hamas must have no political, military or administrative role in Gaza’s future.

The essay also confronts Western activists who portray Hamas terrorists as heroic “resistance fighters.” Alkhatib argues that glorifying the organization does nothing to help Palestinians. Instead, it prolongs Gaza’s misery and shields Hamas from the accountability it deserves.

He points to activists connected to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani who celebrated “resistance” and “Intifada,” as well as influential streamer Hasan Piker, who has been accused of helping normalize Hamas while campaigning for Mamdani, Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and other Democratic figures.

Recent polling has highlighted the consequences of this propaganda. While most Americans continue to support Israel over Hamas, disturbingly large numbers of younger voters now say they side with the terrorist organization.

That is not compassion for Palestinians. Supporting the group that hijacked Gaza, crushed its political opposition, murdered Israelis and sacrificed generations of Palestinians is the opposite of caring about Palestinian lives.

Alkhatib believes Gaza could still become a peaceful and prosperous society, but only if it rejects Hamas, jihadism and the destructive ideology that has repeatedly turned the territory into a launching pad for terrorism.

The question is whether Western activists will finally listen to a Gazan telling them the truth, or continue cheering for the very terrorists responsible for Gaza’s destruction.

For once, The New York Times gave its readers an honest account of Hamas. Hopefully, it will not be the last. (New York Post⁠)