Hundreds join protest against Hamas in northern Gaza
Hundreds of Palestinians have joined protests in northern Gaza, shouting anti-Hamas slogans and calling for an end to the war with Israel, in what has been described as the largest protest against the militant group inside the territory since the 7 October attacks.
Videos and photos shared on social media late on Tuesday showed hundreds of people, mostly men, chanting 'Hamas out' and 'Hamas terrorists' in Beit Lahia, where the crowd had gathered a week after the Israeli army resumed its intense bombing of Gaza following nearly two months of a truce.
The protests took place in front of the Indonesian hospital in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
Some protesters were seen carrying banners emblazoned with slogans including 'Stop the war' and 'We want to live in peace'.
At least one appeal to join the protest was circulating on the social media network Telegram.
'I don't know who organised the protest,' one man told Agence France-Press. 'I took part to send a message on behalf of the people: Enough with the war,' he said, adding that he had seen 'members of the Hamas security forces in civilian clothing breaking up the protest'.
Majdi, another protester who did not wish to give his full name, said the 'people are tired'.
'If Hamas leaving power in Gaza is the solution, why doesn't Hamas give up power to protect the people?' he told AFP.
Separate clips showed dozens of people in Jabalia refugee camps, in the western part of Gaza City, burning tyres and calling for the war to end.
'We want to eat,' they chanted.
Some Gaza residents said the protests could spread to other parts of the war-torn territory, whose inhabitants are exhausted and traumatised after a year and a half of conflict.
Since Hamas launched its attacks on southern Israel on 7 October, modest protests have occasionally broken out in Gaza, with demonstrators demanding an end to the war.
Many of the slogans chanted on Tuesday evoked the Bidna N'eesh ('We Want to Live') movement, which emerged during the 2019 Gaza economic protests. Those protests were violently suppressed by Hamas, which said they were orchestrated by its rival, Fatah.
Israel regularly calls for people in Gaza to mobilise against Hamas, which has been in power in the territory since 2007.
The Gaza Strip has been devastated by more than 17 months of war between Israel and Hamas, with the humanitarian situation again deteriorating after Israel blocked the passage of aid into the territory on 2 March in an attempt to force the militants to release Israeli hostages.
Since Israel resumed its military operations in Gaza, at least 792 Palestinians have been killed, according to the health ministry.
The war was sparked by the militant group's 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 50,021 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry.
AFP contributed to this report
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