'Get out, Hamas': Hundreds protest against group's rule over Gaza, call for end to war with Israel
Palestinians in Gaza expressed anger at Hamas's rule after Israel resumed offensive last week
Amid the destroyed buildings and broken power lines in the Shuja'iyya district of the Gaza Strip, dozens of Palestinians chanted: "Get out, Hamas, we want to live in freedom."
Standing in a circle on Wednesday, the protesters — mostly men and children — clapped to the beat of every chant against the militant group.
Emotions were high as many recounted what and whom they have lost over the last year and a half of war — family, friends, homes — and blamed Hamas for their losses and for the continuation of the fighting in the strip.
"Hamas killed our children, Hamas destroyed our homes," Mu'ayyid Dhahir told freelance videographer Mohamed El Saife from the protest. "We don't want Hamas, get out."
The protests come after calls were made on Tuesday on social media platforms for Palestinians in Gaza to come out and express their frustration against Hamas and the endless war in the Gaza Strip. Last week, Israel resumed its air and ground assault on Gaza in order to pressure Hamas to release all remaining hostages.
Some Palestinians voiced caution about publicly speaking out against Hamas for fear of retribution, but many of the demonstrators said they were tired of living under their conditions and need their voices to be heard.
'What matters is Hamas leaves us alone'
On the ground, Ayad Jundia said he lost everything in the war, including hundreds of family members and his home. But he insisted on the importance of speaking out against Hamas's rule.
"Hamas could call anyone a spy if they spoke against them," he said. "Today, we don't care, they can shoot us and call us spies, what matters is Hamas leaves us alone."
Cars and trucks driving by the protest honked and waved peace signs at protesters to show support for the demonstration.
Hazem Sakr lamented Hamas's leadership, whose politics he feels forced a war onto the people of Gaza.
"Since [Hamas] took over Gaza, it has caused the occupation to kill us and kill our children," he said. "Our children are more precious than the leaders of Hamas who are outside the country."
Sakr said over the last 18 months, he lost his home, his brother is missing and he was injured in the midst of the fighting. But he said he is not scared of speaking out against Hamas.
"A Gazan is never scared of death. A Gazan tolerates hunger and thirst but cannot tolerate humiliation," he said.
Group weakened by Israeli offensive
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim said people had the right to protest at the suffering inflicted by the war, but he denounced what he said were "suspicious political agendas" exploiting the situation.
"Where are they from, what is happening in the West Bank?" he said. "Why don't they protest against the aggression there or allow people to take to the streets to denounce this aggression?"
The comments, reflecting tensions among Palestinian factions over the future of Gaza, came several hours after the rival Fatah movement called on Hamas to "respond to the call of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip." Fatah leads the Palestinian Authority in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Palestinian analyst Akram Attallah said Hamas, which kept a lid on public opposition before the war, would have few options to clamp down on demonstrations if they gained momentum.
"The people are exhausted and paid with their lives and property, and the group is facing a devastating Israeli military offensive that makes it weaker to crack down on the protesters even if it wanted to," he said.
More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli campaign in Gaza, according to health officials in the territory. The offensive was launched after Hamas-led gunmen attacked communities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and abducting about 250 as hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Much of the narrow coastal enclave has been reduced to rubble, leaving hundreds of thousands of people sheltering in tents or bombed-out buildings.
Netanyahu takes credit for protests
Hundreds of thousands of residents who had fled to the south of Gaza earlier in the war returned to their ruined homes in the north after a ceasefire took effect in January.
Now, evacuation orders after Israel relaunched its offensive on March 18 have shattered the two-month truce, during which Hamas handed over more hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to say the protest showed Israel's decision to renew its offensive was working in Gaza, where Hamas police — the group's enforcers — have once again disappeared after emerging during the ceasefire.
"In recent days, we have seen something unprecedented — open protests in Gaza against Hamas rule. We are determined to achieve all of our war objectives," Netanyahu said during a speech in the Knesset, Israel's parliament.
Since Israel resumed its strikes on Gaza, saying its goal was to completely dismantle Hamas, nearly 700 people, mostly women and children, have been killed, according to Palestinian health officials.
Hamas deployed thousands of police and security forces across Gaza after the ceasefire took effect in January, but its armed presence has sharply retracted since March 18, when Israel's major attacks resumed. Fewer police were present in some areas, while members and leaders of the armed wing went off the radar to avoid Israeli airstrikes.
While official contacts aimed at getting the ceasefire process back on track have continued, there has been little sign of a breakthrough over central issues, including the future governance of the Gaza Strip.
Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007 in elections that swept out the Fatah group of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. It has ruled the enclave since then, offering little space for opposition.
The two movements have been at odds for years and have failed to bridge differences over the postwar future of Gaza, which the Palestinian Authority says must come under its authority.
Hamas, while expressing readiness to step back from an active part in government, says it must be involved in selecting whatever administration comes next.
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With files from CBC's Mohamed El Saife, Sara Jabakhanji and Reuters