In a rare show of defiance, Palestinians are demonstrating against the war and their Hamas government in northern Gaza.
Videos circulated on social media showing demonstrators chanting “Hamas, get out!” and “The Gazan people do not want war,” as they marched down a dusty street between war-shattered buildings in Beit Lahiya, a mile from Gaza’s north frontier with Israel, on March 25.
People held signs saying, “Stop the war” and “We refuse to die.”
The crowd expanded to thousands as demonstrations resumed the next day, both in Beit Lahiya and Gaza City.
About 3,000 people demonstrated in Beith Lahiya on March 26, according to the Times of Israel.
A much smaller crowd consisting of “dozens” of men gathered in the Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza City, chanting, “Out, out, out! Hamas get out!”
Other videos showed supporters of the Hamas terrorist group dispersing the crowds.
One protester told Israel’s Ha'aretz newspaper that the demonstration began spontaneously, out of what he said was a “sense of despair, due to their inability to endure the continuation of the war.”
The protester said the demonstrations do not show support for Israel.
“Israel offers nothing but killing, shelling, and blockade,” he said.
“But Hamas also bears direct responsibility, as do all who define themselves as Arab and Palestinian leaders.”
The Times of Israel quoted protester Abed Radwan saying: “Our children have been killed. Our houses have been destroyed.”
He said he joined the Beit Lahiya protest “against the war, against Hamas, and the [Palestinian political] factions, against Israel, and against the world’s silence.”
Another March 25 protester, Ammar Hassan, said the crowd began with a few dozen people and swelled to 2,000, with people chanting against Hamas.
“It’s the only party we can affect,” he said. “Protests won’t stop the [Israeli] occupation, but it can affect Hamas.”
Mohammed Abu Saker, a father of three who demonstrated on March 25, expressed similar sentiments, according to the publication.
“We want to stop the killing and displacement, no matter the price,” he said. “We can’t stop Israel from killing us, but we can press Hamas to give concessions.”
According to Ha'aretz, two tribal heads who participated in the demonstration have come out against Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip.
After two months of cease-fire beginning on Jan. 19—including six weeks of Israeli hostages being exchanged for Palestinian prisoners—fighting resumed on March 18 after negotiations for a second cease-fire phase and more hostage releases broke down.
Israel cut off the delivery of food, fuel, medicine, and humanitarian aid to Gaza’s roughly 2 million residents.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz urged others to join the protest and demand the release of the hostages and the removal of Hamas as the only way to end the war.
He warned that the restarted military campaign and land seizures would only gain intensity.
“Hamas is risking your life and will make you lose your homes and more and more land that will be added to the Israeli defense array,” Katz said in a video statement on March 26.
He referred to an expanding buffer zone along the Gaza border that Israel has set up.
The war began after Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which it massacred 1,200 people, primarily Israeli civilians, wounded thousands, and took 251 hostages.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has so far claimed 50,000 lives, according to Gaza health authorities. Controlled by Hamas, they do not distinguish between civilians and fighters.
Israel has said that at least 20,000 of those killed were members of Hamas.
Gaza health authorities say another 700 people have been killed since Israel resumed its attack.
Hamas still holds an estimated 24 living and 35 dead hostages.
The terrorist group came to power after winning Gaza’s last elections in 2006, a year after Israel unilaterally pulled out.
In 2007, Hamas took complete control by purging its rivals, the secular Fatah members of the Palestinian Authority. Hundreds were arrested, driven out, or killed.
Hamas suppresses dissent among the Gazan population. Rights groups say it quashes protests and jails and tortures critics.
Israel has said it won’t tolerate Hamas retaining the ability to wage war or control Gaza.
One problem hampering negotiations has been the question of who will govern Gaza when and if Hamas is forced to step down.
However, Israelis believe Gazan civilians are not blameless in the Oct. 7 massacre.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog, a few days after the attack, questioned why Gazan civilians hadn’t risen up or fought against a regime he termed “evil.”
