Hundreds of Palestinians took to the streets in northern Gaza to take part in the largest anti-Hamas protest since the war with Israel began, calling for an end to the ongoing conflict and demanding that the group step down from power. The demonstrations took place in Beit Lahia in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, where the crowd had gathered a week after the Israeli army resumed its intense bombing of Gaza after nearly two months of a truce.
Videos and photos shared on social media late on Tuesday showed hundreds of protestors, mostly male, chanted "out, out, out, Hamas out" and "Hamas terrorists" as they carried banners emblazoned with slogans including "Stop the war" and "We want to live in peace".
غزة تنتفض ضد حماس.. مشاهد جديدة لتظاهرات حاشدة في بيت لاهيا للمطالبة بإيقاف الحرب وإنهاء حكم الحركة وخروجها في القطاع#العربية #غزة pic.twitter.com/1vfy8h9FlC
— العربية (@AlArabiya) March 25, 2025
Media reports said that masked and armed Hamas militants, some carrying guns and others batons, forcibly dispersed the protesters, assaulting several of them in the process.
Protestors said they were mobilised after appeals to join the protest were circulated on the social media network Telegram.
"I don't know who organised the protest," a man named Mohammed told Agence France-Press. The demonstrator declined to give his last name for fear of reprisals.
"I took part to send a message on behalf of the people: Enough with the war," he said, adding that he had seen "members of the Hamas security forces in civilian clothing breaking up the protest".
Majdi, another protester who did not wish to give his full name, said the "people are tired".
Three messages from the Gazans to the world, and why the people will win this time:
— Dalia Ziada - داليا زيادة (@daliaziada) March 25, 2025
1. "Hamas are terrorists."
2. "We want peace."
3. "We want to live a normal life."
It is not the first time the people of #Gaza protested against Hamas rule. Similar protests have happened many… pic.twitter.com/HlngJLVTuM
"If Hamas leaving power in Gaza is the solution, why doesn't Hamas give up power to protect the people?" he told AFP.
Separate footage from Jabalia refugee camps, in the western part of Gaza City, showed dozens of protestors burning tyres and calling for the war to end.
"We want to eat," they chanted.
La protesta en Jabalia esta noche, los canales afiliados a Fatah, los habitantes de #Gaza corean: "El pueblo quiere que caiga Hamás" y "El pueblo necesita harina para alimentarse” También hay protestas contra #Hamás en Khan Yunis#السعوديه_اليابان#غزة_تُباد
— ITON GADOL es Israel y las comunidades judias (@Itongadol) March 25, 2025
#Israel pic.twitter.com/Tw6HYt8eAf
As of Tuesday evening, Telegram messages from unknown sources were calling on people to reprise the demonstration in various parts of Gaza on Wednesday.
Hamas' History In Gaza
Hamas has been ruling Gaza since 2007, after it won the Palestinian elections a year prior and then violently ousted rivals. The group is yet to comment on the matter, but pro-Hamas supporters defended the group by downplaying the significance of the movement and accusing protestors of being traitors.
Criticism of the group has grown in Gaza since the war with Israel began, though Hamas still has fiercely loyal supporters in the territory, and the levels of discontent towards the group are difficult to gauge.
The last available survey was conducted in September by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR).
It estimated that 35 percent of Palestinians in Gaza said they supported Hamas, and 26 percent said they supported its rival Fatah, the party of Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas.
'Step Aside'
Israel regularly calls for Gazans to mobilise against the Islamist movement that has been in power in the territory since 2007.
Hamas rival Fatah's spokesman in Gaza, Monther al-Hayek, called on Hamas Saturday to "step aside from governing" to safeguard the "existence" of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
War in Gaza
The Gaza Strip has been devastated by more than 17 months of war between Israel and Hamas, with the humanitarian situation again deteriorating after Israel blocked the passage of aid into the territory on March 2 in an attempt to force the militants to release Israeli hostages.
Since Israel resumed its military operations in Gaza, at least 792 Palestinians have been killed, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
The war was sparked by the group's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 50,021 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry.
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