Thousands of Palestinians protest in Gaza in rare call to end Hamas's rule

By Fares Akram

 

Thousands of Palestinians demonstrated across parts of the Gaza Strip Wednesday in rare protests against militant group Hamas, the ruler of the war-ravaged territory.

 

The demonstrations began in Beit Lahiya in the north on Tuesday, before spreading to Gaza City and central Gaza a day later. Protesters called on Hamas to relinquish control of Gaza and end the 18-month war with Israel that’s killed tens of thousands of people. 

 

“The protest was spontaneous; it stemmed from the oppression we live under,” one of the demonstrators, Rezeq Salem, said in a phone interview from Beit Lahiya.

 

 

The demonstrations against Hamas have been largely peaceful, with the militant group’s police and security forces rarely appearing in public.

 

Protests against the militant group are rare but not unprecedented. While previous demonstrations have urged Hamas to reconcile with rival Fatah — which dominates the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank — this is the first time crowds have openly called on it to step aside and sustained protests into a second day.

 

Hamas and its allied factions said the demonstrations should focus on ending the war and getting Israel to reopen border crossings to allow more aid into the Palestinian territory. They also warned of an Israeli “scheme” aimed at exploiting the protests to sow divisions among Palestinians.

 

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the rallies showed his country was succeeding in weakening Hamas’s political power. His defense minister, Israel Katz, said more Gazans should take to the streets.

 

“We saw something that we’ve never seen in the past,” Netanyahu said to the Israeli parliament. “We saw large, open protests against Hamas. The Gazans understand that Hamas has brought upon them destruction.”

 

Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the US and European Union, has ruled Gaza since 2007.

 

Israel says the war won’t end until Hamas relinquishes power and releases the remaining 59 hostages taken on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked southern Israel from Gaza. The two sides have continued indirect talks over a new ceasefire, but the negotiations have stalled for weeks.

 

Israel resumed airstrikes on Gaza on March 18, following a two-month truce. Since the ceasefire collapsed, Israeli attacks have killed more than 830 Palestinians, raising the total death toll in Gaza since the conflict started to more than 50,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.

 

Hamas killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostage with its attack in late 2023.

 

Katz, the Israeli defense minister, said Israel’s military will soon operate in more areas in Gaza and residents will be required to move away from combat zones.