Palestinians protest Hamas in rare anti-war demonstrations in Gaza
Palestinians chanted against Hamas during anti-war protests in the Gaza Strip, according to witnesses and videos circulating online. It was a rare show of public anger against the militant group, which has long repressed dissent and still rules the territory 17 months into the war with Israel.
The videos, which appeared to be authentic, showed hundreds of people taking part in an anti-war protest in the heavily destroyed northern town of Beit Lahiya on Tuesday. People held signs saying 바카라 게임 웹사이트Stop the war,바카라 게임 웹사이트 바카라 게임 웹사이트We refuse to die,바카라 게임 웹사이트 and 바카라 게임 웹사이트The blood of our children is not cheap.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Some could be heard chanting: 바카라 게임 웹사이트Hamas out!바카라 게임 웹사이트 Other videos appeared to show Hamas supporters dispersing the crowds.
바카라 게임 웹사이트We are sick of the bombing, killing and displacement,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Ammar Hassan, a young man from Beit Lahiya who took part in the protest.
He said it started as an anti-war protest with just a few dozen people but then swelled to more than 2,000, with people chanting against Hamas.
바카라 게임 웹사이트It's the only party we can affect,바카라 게임 웹사이트 he said over the phone. 바카라 게임 웹사이트Protests won't stop the (Israeli) occupation, but it can affect Hamas,바카라 게임 웹사이트 he said.
'We want to stop the killing바카라 게임 웹사이트
A statement released by family elders from Beit Lahiya expressed support for the protests against Israel바카라 게임 웹사이트s offensive and its tightened blockade. They also said the community fully supports armed resistance against Israel and rejects 바카라 게임 웹사이트any attempt to exploit legitimate popular demands by a fifth column."
바카라 게임 웹사이트The protest was not about politics. It was about people바카라 게임 웹사이트s lives," said Mohammed Abu Saker, a father of three from the nearby town of Beit Hanoun, who joined the demonstration.
바카라 게임 웹사이트We want to stop the killing and displacement, no matter the price. We can바카라 게임 웹사이트t stop Israel from killing us, but we can press Hamas to give concessions,바카라 게임 웹사이트 he said.
Video below: Many Palestinians are leaving their homes in the West Bank as Israeli settlers move in
A similar protest erupted in the heavily destroyed area of Jabaliya on Tuesday, according to witnesses.
One of the protesters in Jabaliya, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution, said they joined the demonstration because 바카라 게임 웹사이트everyone failed us.바카라 게임 웹사이트 They said they chanted against Israel, Hamas, the Western-backed Palestinian Authority and even Arab mediators.
They added there were no Hamas security forces at the protest, but that scuffles broke out between supporters and opponents of the group.
However, later, they said they regretted participating in the protests because of Israeli media coverage, which emphasized the opposition to Hamas. 바카라 게임 웹사이트I will not let those who killed my family feel happy about such a protest,바카라 게임 웹사이트 they said.
A 19-year-old Palestinian, who also requested anonymity for fear of retribution, watched the protest in Jabaliya but didn바카라 게임 웹사이트t join because he was busy clearing rubble for money. He plans to join demonstrations called for on Wednesday. His mother has cancer and his 10-year-old brother is hospitalized with cerebral palsy, and he says the family has been displaced multiple times since their home was destroyed.
바카라 게임 웹사이트People are angry at the whole world,바카라 게임 웹사이트 including the United States, Israel and Hamas, he said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트We want Hamas to resolve this situation, return the hostages and end this whole thing.바카라 게임 웹사이트
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 바카라 게임 웹사이트 24 of whom are 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 militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251. Hamas has said only a handful of its top commanders knew about the attack ahead of time.
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 Western-backed Palestinian Authority, dominated by the secular Fatah movement, the following year after months of factional unrest and a week of heavy street battles.
Rights groups say both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas violently suppress dissent, quashing protests in the areas they control and jailing and torturing critics.