Hundreds of Palestinians protested in northern Gaza on Tuesday, shouting anti-Hamas slogans.
They called for an end to the war with Israel, witnesses told Agence-France-Presse, as dissatisfaction against the group grows .
Dr Ran Porat, an affiliate research associate at Monash University’s Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation, told SBS News that protests in Gaza are rare.
He said people risked their lives to speak out against Hamas, which has reportedly beaten and hanged dissidents.
The protesters gathered near the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, an area under heavy Israeli bombardment in recent days following the collapse of a fragile two-month ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
On the same evening, Israeli protesters gathered outside the president’s office in Tel Aviv to continue to call for the release of the 59 hostages taken by Hamas on 7 October 2023 who haven’t been released yet.
Here’s what we know about the protests and the impact of the .
Family members of Israeli hostages in Gaza and anti-government protesters rally outside the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem. Source: AAP / Atef Safadi / EPA
‘Fall of the fear barrier’
Hamas has run the Gaza Strip since 2007, after a brief civil war with forces loyal to the Fatah movement led by President Mahmoud Abbas, who is based in the West Bank and also heads the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Protesters on Tuesday night were filmed shouting “Out, out, out, Hamas out,” using a phrase considered humiliating in Arabic.
While supporters of Hamas defended the group, Hamas itself did not comment.
On the social media platform Telegram, at least one call for the protest had circulated on Tuesday.
“I don’t know who organised the protest,” said Mohammed, a demonstrator who 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,” Mohammed 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”.
“If Hamas leaving power in Gaza is the solution, why doesn’t Hamas give up power to protect the people?” he questioned.
As of Tuesday evening, Telegram messages from unknown sources called on people to reprise the demonstration in various parts of Gaza on Wednesday.
A 2018 Human Rights Watch report found Hamas has routinely tortured, beaten, and arrested people in Gaza for criticising the group online or being part of opposing political movements.
Porat said Hamas has been profiting from the sale of goods into Gaza — marking up meat at triple the price and doubling the price of petrol.
“Hamas rules Gaza by oppression and the fear of executions. You have to have a lot of courage to protest in Gaza,” he said.
“What we see now is the fall of that fear barrier because the Gazans have had enough of being stuck between the Israeli war machine that is out to release the hostages and destroy Hamas, and Hamas, who does not want to let go of its stronghold of Gaza.”
He said the residents of northern Gaza have “been left with nothing” following the escalation of the Hamas-Israel war, but some are feeling real hope Hamas could be toppled by other groups within Gaza, including the second-biggest political party, Fatah.
“Protesters are in the north where the devastation is even worse, far worse than in the south, people coming back to their homes and finding no homes, just trouble,” he said.
What do Palestinians think of Hamas?
Khalil Shikaki is a political scientist and director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, located in the West Bank.
He told NPR last year that support for Hamas among Palestinians appeared to have risen following the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel.
“[People] share the belief that Hamas stands for resistance, armed resistance to Israeli occupation, at a time when the majority of the Palestinians believe that the only way to end the Israeli occupation and allow the Palestinians to be free, independent and sovereign is the use of force,” he said.
In a June poll conducted by Shikaki last year, 40 per cent of Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza said they would prefer Hamas to govern them, followed by Fatah (20 per cent).
However, three months later, he estimated 35 per cent of Palestinians in Gaza said they supported Hamas, and 26 per cent said they supported Fatah, representing an increase of 6 per cent.
‘Things have gone from bad to worse’
The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees said no food, water, medicines, or fuel had entered Gaza in three weeks, marking a longer siege than what was in place in the first phase of the war.
“Every day without food inches Gaza closer to an acute hunger crisis,” the organisation said in a statement on Monday AEDT.
Porat said since the resumption of fighting earlier this month, the situation in both Gaza and Israel has been dire.
“From a Hamas point of view, things have gotten worse. From the Gaza residents’ point of view, things have definitely gotten worse,” he said.
“From the Israeli point of view, it’s also gotten worse because 24 out of 59 hostages are still alive in Gaza, being possibly tortured, kept in the worst conditions possible. They have been living underground in a tunnel 80 cm wide, chained and tortured, beaten and famished, so it’s gone from bad to worse.”
Thousands of Israelis have been protesting daily in Jerusalem, angry over the government’s policies, including a return to war, which many believe abandons the hostages still held in Gaza.
The families of the hostages have also been critical of the fighting, accusing the government of sacrificing their loved ones, who they had hoped would be released with the continuation of the ceasefire.
— With additional reporting by Agence-France Presse
