Palestinians Celebrate October 7: Documented Reactions in Gaza, the West Bank, and the Diaspora

On October 7, 2023, while Hamas fighters were still killing Israelis and taking hostages, celebrations broke out across Palestinian territories and diaspora communities. The celebrations were widespread and documented by multiple international news organizations on October 7 itself.

In Gaza City, crowds gathered in the streets as Hamas fighters returned with Israeli hostages. Footage broadcast on Al Jazeera and captured by Reuters showed:

• Large crowds lining streets as vehicles carrying hostages passed through
• Crowds chanting, celebrating, and in some documented cases, attacking the hostages being transported
• Hamas distributing sweets to crowds — a traditional Palestinian and Arab cultural expression of celebration
• Children holding Hamas flags and celebrating alongside adults

The footage of hostages being transported through celebrating Gaza crowds — some appearing bloodied, dazed, or in shock — is among the most widely circulated footage from October 7. Several hostages described being attacked by civilians during their transfer, separate from their Hamas captors.

In Ramallah — the seat of the Palestinian Authority, which is not governed by Hamas — residents distributed sweets on the streets following news of the attack. Footage documented by multiple outlets showed:

• Street celebrations with sweets distributed to passersby
• Residents expressing approval of the attack in on-camera interviews
• A notable absence of public condemnation from Palestinian Authority officials in the immediate hours

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah faction is nominally in political opposition to Hamas, did not condemn the attack on October 7. Abbas issued a statement on October 8 that referenced Palestinian rights without condemning the massacre, hostage-taking, or sexual violence. His first explicit condemnation of Hamas violence came weeks later under sustained international pressure.

Celebrations among Palestinian diaspora communities were documented in multiple Western countries on October 7 and 8:

• Sydney, Australia: A pro-Palestinian rally on October 9 included demonstrators chanting in celebration of the Hamas attack. Several participants held signs with the paraglider symbol — a reference to Hamas paragliders used in the attack — as a celebratory image. Australian political leaders condemned the rally.

• London, UK: Pro-Palestinian marches on October 9 included celebration of the attack alongside calls for a ceasefire. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley reviewed whether celebratory chants constituted incitement under UK law.

• Various US cities: Small celebrations were documented in footage on social media. Universities including Harvard, MIT, and Columbia saw pro-Palestinian student statements within 24 hours of the attack that called it 'resistance' without acknowledging civilian casualties.

• Lebanon: Celebrations in Palestinian refugee camps were documented on video.

The celebrations were not a fringe reaction. Palestinian polling in late 2023 and early 2024 found majority support for the attack, though later polls showed a shift, especially in Gaza (in September 2024, 57% of Gazans called the decision "incorrect" while 64% in the West Bank still called it "correct"; overall support was about 50% by May 2025):

Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR), December 2023:

• 72% of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza said the decision to carry out the October 7 attack was correct
• Hamas's political support rose significantly in the West Bank after October 7, despite the Fatah-dominated PA being in opposition to Hamas
• Support for the two-state solution fell

These are not Israeli sources. PCPSR is a Palestinian organization that conducts independent polling and is widely cited by Western academics and NGOs. The results consistently show that the October 7 attack enjoyed majority support among the Palestinian population that Western discourse treats as the sympathetic party in the conflict.

This does not mean every Palestinian supported it, or that collective punishment is justified. It does mean that the framing — Hamas as a rogue organization whose actions the Palestinian people oppose — is contradicted by the Palestinian people's own polling responses.

Beyond the celebrations, documentation exists of Gaza civilians participating directly in the October 7 attack — not just cheering, but entering Israeli territory and taking part in looting and hostage transport. This is covered in the separate event Gaza Civilians Participated in the October 7 Attack.

The celebrations documented here are distinct: they show the reaction of people who did not participate in the attack but welcomed its outcome — including the killing of about 1,200 people and the kidnapping of 251.