Anti-Hamas protests in southern Gaza enter third day

Palestinians have taken to the streets in southern Gaza for the third day in a row to protest against Hamas.

Hundreds of protesters were seen in videos posted on social media calling for an end to the war and for the removal of the armed group from Gaza. “Out! Out! Out! All of Hamas, out,” they chanted.

Speaking out against Hamas can be dangerous in Gaza and threats circulated on journalists’ WhatsApp groups on Tuesday, forbidding journalists from publishing any “negative news that could affect the morale of the people”.

Activists said young people started the protests on Monday and were joined by others on their way to get food from community kitchens, who were still holding their pots.

The protesters directed their anger at Hamas’s leadership after an interview with senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri circulated on social media.

Speaking on a podcast which originally aired in late March, he said that the war with Israel was “eternal”, adding: “We will rebuild the houses and produce dozens more babies for each martyr.”

Videos from the protests in Khan Younis show young men criticizing Hamas for selling their “blood for a dollar… To those with Hamas, be aware the people of Gaza will dig your grave”.

In recent months, protests against Hamas have been on the rise in northern Gaza, but activists say the group’s presence in the south has remained strong and it has successfully suppressed public dissent until now.

International journalists including those from the BBC are blocked by Israel from reporting from Gaza and anti-Hamas sentiment remains difficult to assess from afar.

Israel has carried out daily air strikes on Khan Younis since Monday, when the Israeli army issued residents with one of the largest evacuation orders this year, telling those in the eastern half of the city to head immediately towards camps in the coastal al-Mawasi area.

One man, who we’re calling ‘Alaa’, was among those who started the protests. He agreed to speak to the BBC on condition of anonymity, for fear of reprisals from Hamas.

“The people do not care anymore about Hamas’ attempts to suppress their voice because they are literally dying from hunger, evacuation, and the bombings,” he said.

Alaa, who is originally from northern Gaza, said he had had to move around 20 times over the course of the 19-month war and could not afford to buy a tent for shelter.

Previously imprisoned for taking part in anti-Hamas protests in 2019, Alaa said Hamas needed to leave.

“Resistance was not born with Hamas, and even if Hamas is gone, there will be other faces of resistance [to the Israeli occupation]. But this current policy will cost us all of Palestine and the nation.”

“We just want our children to live in peace, and we deliver a message to the whole world, to try their best in pressuring Israel and Hamas so we can save us and our children from this war.”

In Gaza, public criticism of Hamas carries significant risks.

In March, 22-year old Oday a-Rubai was abducted and tortured to death by armed gunmen after taking part in anti-Hamas protests in Gaza City.

There are reports that others have been beaten, shot or killed for publicly opposing the group.

Alaa said that as their protest approached Nasser hospital on Monday a group of men told them to stop.

“There was one man who wanted to pull out his gun, but his friend stopped him. They couldn’t do anything because they were outnumbered by the number of protesters.”

Moumen al-Natour, a lawyer, former political prisoner, and co-founder of the anti-Hamas protest movement, We Want to Live, said: “The fatigue, effort and cost of displacement is pushing people to revolt against Hamas who refuse to surrender and hand over their weapons.”

The United Nations says that since 15 May, more than 57,000 people have been displaced in southern Gaza due to the fighting and evacuation orders.

More than 53,000 people have been killed across Gaza since the start of the war, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, 82 of them in the last 24 hours.

Israel launched a military campaign to destroy Hamas after the group’s cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken back to Gaza as hostages.