RSS
‘For God’s Sake, Hamas Out’: Palestinians in Gaza Protest Ruling Terror Group, Larger Demonstrations to Come
Palestinians protest to demand an end to war, chanting anti-Hamas slogans, in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, March 26, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stringer
Palestinians staged a large anti-Hamas protest in the northern Gaza city of Beit Lahia on Tuesday, and there are indications it is just the first of many to come.
Thousands of people gathered and marched through Beit Lahia chanting anti-Hamas slogans such as “Down with Hamas, we’ve had enough,” For God’s sake, Hamas out,” “we want an end to the war,” and “Hamas terrorists.”
One Gazan said, “Their rule has destroyed us, killed us, and ruined our lives — and all of us here in Beit Lahia stand firmly to end Hamas’s rule.”
A brave and unprecedented: the notable figures of Beit Lahia in Northern Gaza declare that Hamas’s rule must end. “Their rule has destroyed us, killed us, and ruined our lives—and all of us here in Beit Lahia stand firmly to end Hamas’s rule.” pic.twitter.com/Jd7qaGmYS8
— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) March 25, 2025
Hamas, which brutally seized full control of Gaza in 2007, sparked the current war in the Palestinian enclave when it invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping 251 hostages. The ensuing conflict has resulted in massive losses for Hamas but also created a humanitarian crisis among Gazan civilians.
Anger with Hamas among Gaza’s population is strong. A recent poll from the Institute for Social and Economic Progress showed that only 6 percent of Gazans want Hamas to exclusively rule the enclave after the war, and even fewer said they would vote for them if elections were held today. However, 38 percent expressed support for a unity government, which would presumably include Hamas in power as part of a coalition with other Palestinian factions.
The crowds at the protest in Beit Lahia on Tuesday were likely larger than they were at any of the Hamas-orchestrated hostage release parades, where aerial photography suggested they were smaller than what Hamas wanted to present to the world.
The photo on the left shows thousands of people in Gaza protesting against Hamas. The photo on the right shows a few hundred—mostly Hamas members—marching in a Hamas parade after the ceasefire.
The truth couldn’t be more obvious. pic.twitter.com/aBdh4GOpO4
— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) March 25, 2025
Later in the night, protests erupted in the Gazan cities of Khan Younis and Jabaliya as well, with one man explaining to a camera, “We want world nations and leaders to get Hamas out of Gaza — we don’t want Hamas!” The protests also continued on Wednesday morning.
Khan Younis, southern Gaza, is one of many sites of large-scale demonstrations against Hamas, along with Jabaliya, Beit Lahia, and many others. Protests are expected to intensify tomorrow. There’s no turning back! pic.twitter.com/peoAOsSZPF
— Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib (@afalkhatib) March 25, 2025
These protests will likely not be the only ones. Some of the major clans in Gaza have come out in support of a protest movement against Hamas.
The Assembly of Southern Gaza clans released a statement against Hamas, saying, “Enough is enough — a popular uprising against injustice. No more playing with our lives, our children’s future, or disregarding our suffering. Gaza is not anyone’s hostage; Gaza will be liberated by the will of its people.”
Another statement, released by the clans of Shuja’iyya in northern Gaza, read, “We call on you to take to the streets in a popular march of anger rejecting the continuation of the war, and demanding the lifting of Hamas’s control over the Gaza Strip, so that life can return to its people and our ongoing suffering can come to an end.”
Gazan activists were reportedly gearing up for a continuation of the protests on Wednesday, with them taking place across the Strip in Deir al-Balah Camp, Jabalia Camp, Nuseirat, Gaza City, Al-Shati Camp, Khan Younis, Shuja’iyya, and Beit Lahia.
Khalil Sayegh, co-founder and president of the Agora Initiative, which aims to create “a shared vision for Palestine and Israel,” wrote on X that “if you have been following accounts that report daily updates on Gaza, you may have noticed that some have disappeared or gone silent today since news came out about protesters against Hamas.”
“These individuals are either ideologues or propagandists for Hamas, and soon they will come up with a new narrative to spread on this issue. Someone in Turkey will likely send them the memo soon,” he continued.
Sayegh also wrote, “You won’t see this picture of Palestinians in Gaza protesting against Hamas on media. Many media outlets want to dehumanize Palestinians by claiming they all support Hamas, while far-left and pro-Palestine media won’t report it because it undermines their narrative about Hamas.”
Some observers are attempting to change the narrative regarding the protests, claiming they are primarily being held to oppose Israel but not Hamas.
Anas Al-Shareef, a journalist for the Qatar-based news network Al Jazeera, wrote on X that there were protests to “stop the genocide. The massacres continue. Marches in Beit Lahia demand an end to the war and genocide.”
In response, Hamza Howidy, a Palestinian human rights and peace activist, wrote that “Al Jazeera’s journalist, who hid while the protestors were looking for anyone to cover the anti-war & anti-Hamas protests, is working to change the narrative and the demands of the protestors; we want to end the war and Hamas to step down from ruling Gaza.”
“The massive anti-Hamas, anti-war protests in Gaza are not PLO, PA, or Fatah organized,” wrote Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, who is the head of Realign for Palestine, a project of the Atlantic Council, where he is a resident senior fellow.
“They are organic, popular-led, and entirely authentic expressions of frustrations, anger, rage, fury, and exhaustion by a people being held hostage by Hamas’s ruthless terrorism & criminality.”
The post ‘For God’s Sake, Hamas Out’: Palestinians in Gaza Protest Ruling Terror Group, Larger Demonstrations to Come first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
RSS
Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
RSS
Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.