Protests against Hamas were held throughout Gaza for a third consecutive day on Thursday, with participants putting themselves at risk after the terror group warned the public against taking part in such demonstrations.
Footage from the various protests showed hundreds — if not thousands — of Palestinians marching through the ruins of Gaza, shouting against the terror group. The rallies took place in northern Gaza’s Jabalya and Beit Lahiya in the central Strip’s Gaza City along with other locations.
Chants and signs heard at Thursday rallies included the slogans, “Hamas out,” “Al Jazeera out,” “Hamas are terrorists” and “The people want to overthrow Hamas.”
Demonstrators also called for an end to the war and Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, which has taken the lives of roughly 50,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants.
At some of these rallies, masked men holding batons were filmed looking on. Supporters of the demonstrations said these men were Hamas operatives seeking to intimidate those protesting. Several participants posted on social media that they received death threats from Hamas members who warned them not to attend such rallies again.
Earlier Thursday, Hamas issued a joint statement with other Gaza terror groups warning that those participating in the protests would be treated as Israel collaborators — a group that is stomped out brutally by Hamas.
While the protests were still relatively small, the fact that they have not relented amid Hamas intimidation indicated that the phenomenon was gaining momentum.
Another round of protests was also scheduled for Friday, according to social media posts from organizers.
War erupted on October 7, 2023, when Hamas led some 5,000 attackers to invade southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians. The terrorists abducted 251 people who were taken as hostages to the Gaza Strip.
Israel retaliated with a military campaign it said was aimed at destroying Hamas and freeing the hostages. A complex, three-phase ceasefire that included the release of hostages in batches began on January 19 but collapsed after its first stage, as Israel renewed air strikes and accused Hamas of refusing repeated offers to release hostages.
Hamas has insisted on sticking to the terms of the deal, which was supposed to enter its second phase on March 2. That phase envisions the release of all remaining living hostages in exchange for Israel fully withdrawing from Gaza and agreeing to a permanent end to the war. While he signed on to the deal in January, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused those latter two conditions, arguing that they would allow Hamas to remain in power. He has instead sought to extend the first phase of the deal with additional hostage releases, but Hamas has refused.
Hamas has violently cracked down on previous protests in the past. This week, though, there has been no outright intervention, which some see as a sign of the terror group’s waning power. The group’s armed personnel are also thought to be keeping a low profile since Israel resumed military action in Gaza earlier this month following the two-month ceasefire.
Protests are relatively rare events in Gaza, especially against Hamas, which has maintained an iron grip on the Strip since it violently ousted the Palestinian Authority from the territory in 2007.
While there have been more public statements by individuals in Gaza against Hamas rule since the war started, large-scale demonstrations against the group have been almost nonexistent.
The last documented protest in the Strip against Hamas took place in January 2024, when Palestinians in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis called for an end to the war, the end of the terror group’s rule over Gaza, and the release of the Israeli hostages.
Before the war, anti-Hamas protests were also relatively rare events and were often suppressed violently by the terror group.
Israel has vowed to escalate the war until Hamas returns the 59 hostages it still holds — 24 of them believed to be alive. Israel is also demanding that the group give up power, disarm, and send its leaders into exile.
Hamas has said it will only release the remaining captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a complete end to war, and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Hamas won a landslide victory in Gaza in the last Palestinian elections, held in 2006. It seized power in Gaza from the PA, which is based in the West Bank and dominated by the secular Fatah movement, the following year after months of factional unrest and a week of heavy street battles.
Rights groups say both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas violently suppress dissent, quashing protests in the areas they control and jailing and torturing critics.