Egypt Daily News – Palestinians protested against Hamas in northern Gaza on Tuesday, in what appeared to be the largest demonstration against the armed group since its attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
A video showed large crowds marching through the streets of Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, chanting slogans such as “We want an end to the war” and “Hamas out, out,” while referring to Hamas members as “terrorists.”
A message circulating on social media called for nine protests across Gaza on Wednesday, with organizers stating: “Our voices must reach all the spies who have sold our blood.” They added, “Let them hear your voice, let them know that Gaza is not silent, and that there is a people who will not accept extermination.”
The 17-month-long war has reduced much of the Gaza Strip to rubble, making it nearly impossible for aid agencies to reach the hardest-hit northern areas. The crisis worsened when Israel announced in early March that it had halted all aid shipments into Gaza following the collapse of ceasefire extension talks.
Israel has long accused Hamas of stealing humanitarian aid meant for civilians to “rebuild its war machine,” an allegation Hamas denies.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) announced on Sunday that no food, water, medicine, or fuel had entered Gaza for three weeks, marking a longer blockade than in the initial phase of the war.
“Every day without food brings Gaza closer to a severe hunger crisis,” UNRWA stated in a social media post on Sunday.
The protests come as Gaza’s death toll surpassed 50,000 on Sunday, according to the enclave’s health ministry, with no end to the conflict in sight.
Gaza, home to 2.1 million Palestinians, has been under Hamas control since 2007, following the 2006 elections and a brief civil war with Fatah, the rival Palestinian faction that forms the backbone of the Palestinian Authority.
