The demonstrators in Gaza call Hamas to step aside

In a rare public presentation and dangers of anger against Hamas, hundreds of Palestinians walked through Beit Lahia in the north of Gaza this week, demanding that the militant group be abandoned by controlling the region and ending the war with Israel, according to four witnesses.

On Wednesday, the march seemed to be the latest handful of these protests that erupted in the past two weeks, despite Hamas’s efforts to suppress the opposition with threats and strengths. Witnesses said that the first protests in the Beit Lahia joined women, some of them brought their children.

Together, and DemonstrationsAlthough small and scattered, they represent the most dangerous challenge of Hamas’s 18 -year -old rule in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023. The overwhelming Israeli response that followed this has separated from the region and The life of the populationTens of thousands were killed. Blood shed after Israel The ceasefire agreement was completed two months ago In mid -March, quoting Hamas refused to accept Israeli demands.

The Palestinians started a march after about a week in Beit Lahia, an agricultural society in the far north of Gaza, then in other parts of the pocket. The protests lasted for three days before they appeared to fade.

Activists who were published on social media this week are calling new marches. The demonstrators said in the interviews: They gave different estimates of the size of the assembly, from about 1000 to 1500.

“We have lost our homes, loved ones, hope and our future. Sufficient enough,” said Abeer Radia, 34 years old, a housewife who said she went to a demonstration Wednesday with her husband and children. “We call Hamas to stop this and leave us. We do not know when this will end, but we want peace and democracy.”

The march advanced forward despite the broad fear in Gaza, Hamas, which in the past has taken violently on the challenges facing its rule. However, after the recent protests, the Hamas response appeared more audio, reflecting what analysts said was the group’s fear of amplification The angry population is already Its contradictory ability to mobilize the forces, killing thousands of its members with Israeli drones and warplanes.

But the threat of revenge by Hamas is still.

On Friday, one of the demonstrators, Audi Al -Rabi, who is 22 years old, was kidnapped overnight by Hamas agents from a shelter for displacement in Gaza City, according to his brother Hassan.

Hassan, 32, said that he had received an hour after that to pick up his brother from Al -Meshaar Hospital in Gaza City. He said Oday was blood, and he was barely able to walk or speak.

He said: “My whole brother’s body was blood,” adding that Hamas’s clients were dragging it with a wheel. “It was as if I didn’t know him.”

The workers said that anyone “curses” the Hamas military wing will meet with the same fate. He took his brother to another nearby hospital, but Audi died a few hours later.

Hassan said he believed that his brother was targeting because of his participation in the protests and because of his history in criticizing Hamas. Hassan said about a month ago, Oday was attacked by a group of Hamas members, but they escaped when they pulled their knife.

Hamas officials and a spokesman for the Hamas government in Gaza did not respond to the requests for comment.

On Wednesday, the demonstrators were Raid Al -Masry, 44, who said that the members of the disguised Hamas were experiencing in some angles, and they were screaming and sticks.

Two days after a previous protest, the Hamas internal security force in Gaza, Sherif Al -Bawisi, 56, called for a tent in the courtyard of the Martyrs Hospital in Aqsa in the center of Gaza. Mr. Al -Buhaisi is an activist in a boys, the opposing political faction of Hamas, and worked as an official at Al -Azhar University in Gaza City before the war.

Mr. Al -Bhaisi said in an interview on the phone that two officers have threatened, indicating that he would regret participating in future protests.

“This is not the time for protests-they stab the resistance in the back,” Mr. Al-Bhaisi recalls. “If you go out again, the result will not be good.”

After consulting with his family, Mr. Al -Bhaisi said he decided to stay away from other protests. He said it was a bitter reminder of how civilians were detained in Gaza.

He said: “We have persecuted both sides.” “Israel peeling us without mercy and does not care about Hamas if we die.”

Mr. Al -Masry said that many of his cousins ​​also received Hamas threats after the last marches. Al -Massari said that one of them received a phone call from a special number that summoned him to meet on Tuesday with Hamas security officials, who interrogated him about his involvement, asked about the supporters of the protest and his organizers, and forced him to sign a document saying that he will stop protesting.

Others ignored such calls.

The participants said that in a protest on Wednesday, many demonstrators were pushed to the march by hunger. Israel has Boiled aid From entering Gaza for a month, and forcing BakeriesMarkets to empty relief groups and aid to reduce food distribution. Gaza residents say that the remaining production Expensive.

Lady Rarya said that a child in a demonstration on Wednesday shouted that he wanted to eat something. Bassem Hamda, 47, a farmer there was another protester, grabbed onions, screaming that he was only eating onions and radish for more than a week.

For their despair, the demonstrators blamed Israel – but also Hamas.

“Those who cannot provide their people as a loaf of bread have no right to start a war in the name of liberation.”

He and others said that Hamas should do better work in getting rid of food prices by preventing merchants from supplies, which is a common complaint in Gaza.

He added: “Hamas has granted Israel an excuse to continue this war with its failure to organize and control market prices.” “This is the real reason behind these protests.”

Emira Harroda It contributed to the reports from Doha, Qatar.