Palestinians Protest Hamas in a Rare Public Show of Dissent in Gaza

Palestinians attend an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians attend an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP)
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Palestinians Protest Hamas in a Rare Public Show of Dissent in Gaza

Palestinians attend an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians attend an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP)

Thousands of Palestinians marched between the wreckage of a heavily destroyed town in northern Gaza on Wednesday in the second day of anti-war protests, with many chanting against Hamas in a rare display of public anger against the group.

The protests, which centered mainly on Gaza's north, appeared to be aimed generally against the war, with protesters calling for an end to 17 months of deadly fighting with Israel that has made life in Gaza insufferable.

But the public calls against Hamas, which has long repressed dissent and still rules the territory months into the war with Israel, were rare.

In the town of Beit Lahiya, where a similar protest took place Tuesday, about 3,000 people demonstrated, with many chanting "the people want the fall of Hamas." In the hard-hit Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza City, dozens of men chanted "Out, out out! Hamas get out!"

"Our children have been killed. Our houses have been destroyed," said Abed Radwan, who said he joined the protest in Beit Lahiya "against the war, against Hamas, and the (Palestinian political) factions, against Israel and against the world’s silence."

Ammar Hassan, who took part in a protest Tuesday, 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 group has violently cracked down on previous protests. This time no outright intervention was apparent, perhaps because Hamas is keeping a lower profile since Israel resumed its war against it.

Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim, in a post on Facebook, wrote that people had the right to protest but that their focus should be on the "criminal aggressor," Israel.

'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 a demonstration Tuesday.

"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 and the Palestinian Authority. 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.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz urged Palestinians to join the protests.

"You too should demand the removal of Hamas from Gaza and the immediate release of all Israeli hostages. That is the only way to stop the war," he said.

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 gunmen 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 Palestinian Authority, dominated by the secular Fatah movement, the following year after months of factional unrest and a week of heavy street battles.



Israel Airstrikes Kill at Least 100 in Gaza amid Ceasefire Talks

A picture taken from a position at the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing due to Israeli bombardment in the besieged Palestinian territory on May 18, 2025. (AFP)
A picture taken from a position at the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing due to Israeli bombardment in the besieged Palestinian territory on May 18, 2025. (AFP)
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Israel Airstrikes Kill at Least 100 in Gaza amid Ceasefire Talks

A picture taken from a position at the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing due to Israeli bombardment in the besieged Palestinian territory on May 18, 2025. (AFP)
A picture taken from a position at the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing due to Israeli bombardment in the besieged Palestinian territory on May 18, 2025. (AFP)

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 100 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip overnight, local health authorities said on Sunday, as mediators hosted a new round of ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has expanded its strikes on the enclave, killing hundreds of people since Thursday, in preparation for a new ground offensive to achieve "operational control" in parts of Gaza.

"We have at least 100 martyrs since overnight. Complete families were wiped off the civil registration record by Israeli bombardment," Khalil Al-Deqran, Gaza health ministry spokesperson, told Reuters by phone.

Israel has blocked the entry of medical, food and fuel supplies into Gaza since the start of March to try to pressure Hamas into freeing Israeli hostages and has approved plans that could involve seizing the entire Gaza strip and controlling aid.

Hamas says it will only free the hostages in return for an Israeli ceasefire.

Egypt and Qatar mediators, backed by the United States, began a new round of indirect ceasefire talks between the two sides on Saturday, but sources close to the negotiations told Reuters there had been no breakthrough.

A Palestinian official close to the talks, which are taking place in the Qatari capital, Doha, said: "Hamas is flexible about the number of hostages it can free, but the problem has always been over Israel's commitment to end the war."

Britain's Sky News Arabia and the BBC both reported that the Palestinian group had proposed releasing about half its Israeli hostages in exchange for a two-month ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Contacted by Reuters, a Hamas official said: "Israel's position is unchanged, they want their prisoners released, without a commitment to end the war."

One of Israel's overnight strikes hit a tent encampment housing displaced families in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, killing women and children, wounding dozens and setting several tents ablaze.

Hamas described the strike as a "new brutal crime" and blamed the US administration for the escalation.

Among the dozens killed earlier on Sunday were three journalists and their families. Medical officials said another family in northern Gaza lost at least 20 of its members.

Zakaria Al-Sinwar, the brother of former Hamas chief Yehya Al-Sinwar whom Israel killed last October, and three of his children were killed in an Israeli airstrike on their tent in central Gaza Strip, medics said. Sinwar was a history lecturer at a Gaza university.

The Gaza healthcare system is barely operational because of repeated Israeli bombardment and raids on hospitals. The blockade on aid supplies has compounded their difficulties while adding to widespread hunger, for which Israel blames Hamas.

"Hospitals are overwhelmed with the growing number of casualties, many are children, several cases of amputations and the hospitals, which have been hit repeatedly by the occupation, are struggling with shortages of medical supplies," Deqran said.

The Israeli military said in a statement Saturday it was conducting extensive strikes in areas of Gaza as part of its plan to reach its war objectives.

Israel's declared goal in Gaza is the elimination of the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas, which attacked Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and seizing about 250 hostages.

The Israeli military campaign has devastated the enclave, pushing nearly all residents from their homes and killing more than 53,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities.