Credit: X/ @MOhadIsrael
Hundreds of Palestinians shouted anti-Hamas slogans at a rare protest in Gaza on Tuesday.
“Hamas out” and “Hamas terrorists” were chanted by the mostly male demonstrators in Beit Lahia as they called for an end to the war with Israel, witnesses said.
The crowd had gathered a week after the Israeli army resumed its intense bombing of the coastal territory, following nearly two months of a truce.
On the social media network Telegram, at least one appeal to protest was circulating on Tuesday, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency reported.
CNN reported that another message on social media appeared to call for nine anti-Hamas demonstrations across Gaza on Wednesday, while clips obtained by the network showed crowds marching through the streets of Beit Lahia chanting “We want an end to the war”, it said.
Children carry signs in Arabic proclaiming: We refuse to die – AFP via Getty Images
Photos from northern Gaza showed people marching flanked by ruined buildings, destroyed by Israel’s bombing campaign launched in response to Hamas’s deadly October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Reports suggested that further protests had broken out in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, on Tuesday night. The Telegraph was not able to verify these reports.
Protests against Hamas are rare in the Gaza strip. The terror group has cracked down violently on demonstrations in the past, with Amnesty International reporting in 2019 that people had been beaten and detained arbitrarily over protests against the cost of living.
It also said protesters had been subject to torture while in detention.
Palestinians attend a rally calling for an end to the war, in Beit Lahia – Getty
“I don’t know who organised the protest,” Mohammed, a demonstrator who declined to give his last name for fear of reprisals, told the AFP.
“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 asked.
Israel regularly calls for Gazans to mobilise against the Islamist movement that 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.
The humanitarian situation again deteriorated after Israel blocked the passage of aid into the territory on March 2 in an attempt to force Hamas to release the remaining Israeli hostages.
Since Israel resumed its military operations in Gaza, at least 792 Palestinians have been killed, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
The October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to official figures.
The number of people killed by Israel’s retaliatory military offensive surpassed 50,000 for the first time on Sunday, according to the health ministry.
Israel says it has killed about 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The protests came as the Oscar-winning director of a documentary on the conflict was released from detention on Tuesday, a day after being injured and arrested during a raid by Israeli settlers on his village in the West Bank.
Hamdan Ballal, co-director of the award-winning No Other Land, said he had been assaulted by settlers after filming them attacking a neighbour’s house and then returning to make sure his own house was not attacked.
The war in Gaza has sparked a surge of violence in the West Bank, with the Israeli military carrying out military operations that have killed hundreds of Palestinians and displaced tens of thousands.
There has been a rise in settler violence, as well as Palestinian attacks on Israelis.
