If Hamas wasn't there, a different militant group would be in the lead against Israel. Even on Oct. 7th several militant groups attacked Israel, not just Hamas. So they might not be seen as a "good guy" but they are fighting on the morally correct side.

Israel frames this war as a fight against Hamas but it is against Palestine as a whole. Israeli politicans have funded and propped Hamas up specifically because of their extremism, to divide Palestinians, reduce Western sympathy, and make a more palatable enemy to slaughter.