Palestinians protest Hamas in a rare public show of dissent in Gaza
CAIRO (AP) — Palestinians chanted against Hamas during anti-war protests in the Gaza Strip, witnesses said Wednesday, in a rare show of public anger against the militant group that has long repressed dissent and still rules the territory 17 months into the war with Israel.
Videos that appeared to be authentic showed hundreds of people taking part in a protest in the heavily destroyed northern town of Beit Lahiya on Tuesday. People held signs saying 'Stop the war,' 'We refuse to die' and 'The blood of our children is not cheap.'
There were calls for more protests on Wednesday. At least one was held in the hard-hit Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza City, where dozens of men chanted 'Out, out out! Hamas get out!'
'We are sick of the bombing, killing and displacement,' said Ammar Hassan, who took part in the protest on Tuesday.
He said it started as an anti-war protest with a few dozen people but swelled to more than 2,000, with people chanting against Hamas.
'It's the only party we can affect,' he said by phone. 'Protests won't stop the (Israeli) occupation, but it can affect Hamas.'
The militant group has violently cracked down on previous protests.
'We want to stop the killing'
Family elders from Beit Lahiya expressed support for the protests against Israel's renewed offensive and its tightened blockade on all supplies into Gaza. Their statement said the community fully supports armed resistance against Israel.
'The protest was not about politics. It was about people's lives,' said Mohammed Abu Saker, a father of three from the nearby town of Beit Hanoun, who joined the demonstration.
'We want to stop the killing and displacement, no matter the price. We can't stop Israel from killing us, but we can press Hamas to give concessions,' he said.
A similar protest occurred in the heavily destroyed area of Jabaliya on Tuesday, according to witnesses.
One protester in Jabaliya, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said they joined the demonstration because 'everyone failed us.'
They said they chanted against Israel, Hamas, the Western-backed Palestinian Authority and Arab mediators. They said there were no Hamas security forces at the protest but scuffles broke out between supporters and opponents of the group.
Later, they said they regretted participating because of Israeli media coverage, which emphasized the opposition to Hamas.
A 19-year-old Palestinian, who also spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution said he planned to join demonstrations on Wednesday. His mother has cancer and his 10-year-old brother is hospitalized with cerebral palsy, and he said the family has been displaced multiple times since their home was destroyed.
'People are angry at the whole world,' including the United States, Israel and Hamas, he said. 'We want Hamas to resolve this situation, return the hostages and end this whole thing.'
Renewed fighting brings more death and displacement
The protests erupted a week after Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas by launching a surprise wave of strikes that killed hundreds of people. Earlier this month, Israel halted deliveries of food, fuel, medicine and humanitarian aid to Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians.
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 lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
The war was triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel, in which Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 50,000 people, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants. Israel's bombardment and ground operations have caused vast destruction and at their height displaced some 90% of Gaza's population.
Hamas won a landslide victory in the last Palestinian elections, held in 2006. It seized power in Gaza from the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, 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.
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