"Independent", but occupied, being actively settled, and under a blockade managed by a hostile nation that has a manifest destiny encompassing all of its territories and none of its people.
Literally no one is defending the Hamas attacks as just or righteous. It's a total red herring pointing it out. And it's just a big pile of shit that anyone who says anything on the issue needs to hedge everything they say with the obvious fact that they don't condone violent terrorism. It was violent terrorism. No reasonable person is in favor of violent terrorism.