Protests in the Gaza Strip have drawn thousands of Palestinians who are demanding an end to the war with Israel and chanting anti-Hamas slogans. It has been characterized as the biggest demonstration against the terrorist organization within the region since the 7th October 2023 attacks on Israel.

A week after the Jewish state resumed heavy bombing on Gaza for not returning the hostages, following nearly two months of a truce, thousands of people, largely men, were seen chanting “Hamas out,” “Hamas terrorists,” “The people want to overthrow Hamas” and “Yes to peace, no to the ongoing war,” among other slogans in Beit Lahia, according to videos and images posted on social media on 25th March.

Locals were seen on camera protesting for an end to the dispute and Hamas rule. Some of them were holding placards that read, “Stop war” and “Children in Palestine want to live.” Others held banners bearing the words “We want to live in peace” and “Stop the war.” The demonstrations occurred in front of the Indonesian hospital in the northern Gaza Strip. The people also declared their desire for peace and a normal existence during the event.

The Gazans are making three major points: that the Hamas is a terrorist group, Gazans want peace, and they want to live a normal life. It is clear that the ordinary Palestinians are fed up with non-stop war and violence and want an immediate end to it. The protesters say that if Hamas relinquishing power can ensure peace and end of war, then the terror group should do it. Notably, Israel has made it clear that as long as Hamas remains in power in Gaza, it will not stop military offensive against the group.

At least one call to participate in the demonstration was making the rounds on Telegram. “Our voices must reach all the spies who sold our blood,” the protest organizers stated in a social media post that called for nine anti-Hamas protests throughout Gaza on 26th March. “Let them hear your voice, let them know that Gaza is not silent, and that there is a people who will not accept to be eradicated,” it added.

The development took place the day after Islamic Jihad terrorists fired rockets at Israel, leading to the evacuation of a sizable portion of Beit Lahia and inciting local outrage.

Meanwhile, in a strong appeal for a popular revolt (intifada) against Hamas, the Assembly of Southern Gaza Clans charged that the organization was exploiting Palestinian lives as a prop to further its own limited and self-serving agenda. “Enough is enough, a popular uprising against injustice. No more playing with our lives, our children’s future, or disregarding our suffering. Gaza is not anyone’s hostage. Gaza will be liberated by the will of its people,” it declared.

“I don’t know who organised the protest. I took part to send a message on behalf of the people: Enough with the war,” a man conveyed while disclosing that he spotted “members of the Hamas security forces in civilian clothing breaking up the protest.” Another voiced that “people are tired” and asked, “If Hamas leaving power in Gaza is the solution, why doesn’t Hamas give up power to protect the people?”

“We refuse to die for anyone, for any party’s agenda or the interests of foreign states. Hamas must step down and listen to the voice of the grieving, the voice that rises from beneath the rubble, it is the most truthful voice,” a Beit Lahia resident named Mohammed Diab stated. Protesters also chanted, “down with Hamas rule, down with the Muslim Brotherhood rule.”

Dozens of protesters burned tires and chanted, “We want to eat,” during a second anti-war and anti-Hamas rally in northern Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp just hours after the previous one. Other agitations arose around Gaza as word of the demonstrations spread, including one in Khan Younis, a major city in the south, when demonstrators were captured on camera shouting “down with Hamas” and demanding an end to the conflict.

“Their rule has destroyed us, killed us as well as ruined our lives, and all of us here in Beit Lahia stand firmly to end Hamas’s rule,” a frustrated protestor reportedly expressed on camera. In Gaza, protests are rather infrequent, particularly when directed against Hamas, which has firmly established itself in the strip since driving out the Palestinian Authority almost twenty years ago. Large-scale protests against Hamas authority have been virtually nonexistent in Gaza, despite an increase in public declarations by individuals opposing the group’s rule since the war began.

No just Hamas, but the demonstrators also chanted slogans against pro-Hamas media group Al Jazeera and demanded its exit from Gaza along with Hamas. Notably, Israel has banned the Qatar-funded media group for its open support of the Hamas terrorist group.

“Excuse me, but what exactly is Hamas betting on? They’re betting on our blood, blood that the whole world sees as just numbers. Even Hamas counts us as numbers. Step down and let us tend to our wounds,” remarked Mohammed Al-Najjar from Gaza on Facebook. Pro-Hamas Al-Jazeera, an infamous Islamist media outlet supported by Qatar also had to face the wrath of the populace who shouted, “Al Jazeera get out.”

According to some Gazans, the demonstrations can expand to other areas of the war-torn region, where the people are worn out and traumatized from a year and a half of fighting. Interestingly, although Hamas did not formally respond to the rallies, certain Gazan media outlets, including those connected to the terror group, released images and footage of the events under the heading of “demonstration for stopping the war” without bringing up the demands for the terror group’s dismantling.

In January 2024, Palestinians in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis staged the last known demonstration against Hamas in the strip, seeking a resolution to the conflict, the cessation of the terror group’s control over Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages. Anti-Hamas demonstrations were also comparatively uncommon prior to the war and the terror organization frequently put an end to them brutally.

After winning Palestinian elections and forcefully overthrowing competitors, Hamas has been the only political force in Gaza since 2007. Since the start of the war, there has been an increase in open criticism of Hamas in Gaza, both online and on the streets. Long before the war, there was opposition to Hamas, but most of it was kept under wraps out of concern for retaliation.

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