Hundreds in Gaza take to streets to protest Hamas
Hundreds of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip took to the streets on Tuesday for a rare protest against the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has controlled the war-torn strip for nearly two decades.
The videos shared on various social media platforms on Tuesday showed protestors marching through the streets of Beit Lahia, a city in northern Gaza that is close to the Israeli border, and chanting that Hamas leave the Gaza and calling the group a terrorist organization. The Hill has not independently verified the videos.
"Out, out, out, Hamas out" chanted the crowd, mainly comprised of young men.
The protests, that also took place in Khan Younis, a city in southern Gaza, appear to be the largest demonstrations against Hamas since the militant group’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack on southern Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis and taking some 250 hostages. The Oct. 7 attack ignited the 17-month war. Israel’s offensive since then has killed around 50,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The tally does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Those who are supportive of Hamas in Gaza accused the protestors of being traitors and dismissed the scope of the demonstrations.
The protests come as Israel said it was pausing all aid flowing to Gaza at the start of this month.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said over the weekend that no food, water, fuel or medicines had entered Gaza in three weeks.
Every day that passes without the entry of aid means more children go to bed hungry, diseases spread & deprivation deepens,” UNRWA wrote. “Every day without food inches Gaza closer to an acute hunger crisis.”
The Jewish State has resumed its military operation in the war-torn enclave after a roughly two-month ceasefire, accusing Hamas of refusing the U.S.’s fresh proposal to extend the suspension of hostilities, however, the Palestinian militant group argued Israel departed from the original agreement struck in January.
Gaza has been under Hamas’s full control since 2007. The militant group won the 2006 election and violently ousted the forces loyal to Fatah a year later.