The parade of Palestinians marching against Hamas has begun in North Gaza. It hasn’t been covered widely in the media, mainly because it raises uncomfortable questions in the West. Is this what happens when Israel makes it safe for Palestinians to march against Hamas? Is it what happens when people suddenly realize they have lost the war, and they have to pay a price? Has the mainstream media been on the wrong side — believing Palestinian civilians were the victims of Israel, not Hamas? Oops.

And one other question — is Hamas organizing the protest to change the focus from its own depredations to the civilian population that wants a ceasefire? That ceasefire would be very useful to Hamas right now.

We don’t know. But it is worth reading some X posts from Gaza — note that they have Internet service — as well as some supporters of Israel.

One woman posted on X: “The Nakba will always be part of me, part of my identity, part of my history. Having said that, I am not looking for revenge. I am tired of endless wars. I am tired of dead bodies. Time to move on. Time for peace.”

One man wrote: “Every single minute, Hamas can decide to surrender, release the hostages, and stop the Palestinian people’s pain. Every single minute, they decide not to do so.”

Someone outside of Gaza wrote: “Incredible scenes in Gaza. The Palestinians have had enough of Hamas and are shouting ‘Hamas is a terrorist.’”

Their pain. Their suffering. Here it is, from a very articulate — and generally middle-of-the-road — poster:

For over 18 months, we were dehumanized in the worst ways imaginable. Our deaths were justified as necessary. Our suffering was dismissed as deserved. Our misery was framed as a consequence of our own choices, as if we had chosen to live under Hamas, as if we had the power to resist them without being killed.

We were treated as if we were all terrorists, stripped of our humanity, and blamed for our own destruction. The world watched as entire families were wiped out, as neighborhoods were turned to dust, and still, the excuse remained the same: They are Hamas. They brought this upon themselves. And now, thousands of Gazans have risked their lives to say it clearly: Hamas is a terrorist organization. We want them gone.

They (the demonstrators) called for peace—loudly, unmistakably. They demanded an end to this war. After months of relentless devastation, starvation, and displacement, they stood up and made it clear: We refuse to be pawns in this war any longer. We want a future without Hamas.

We want to live.

The Bibas babies want to live also. So did Hersh Goldberg-Polin. So did the 12,00 killed on Oct. 7, and those dragged off to Gaza still alive. Every single day for nearly 540 days, their agony has been mourned by humane people — but justified by terrorists and their supporters.

It is hard to watch the demonstration and not want to say, “Well, it serves you right for not standing up to Hamas, or getting rid of them for years.” So, consider another X poster — an American-Israeli — who assesses both the demonstrations and the politics:

For only the second time in over 1.5 years of war, a popular demonstration VERSUS Hamas erupted in the GAZA Strip, calling for the removal of the terror regime. Why does it matter? Israel’s new fighting strategy in Gaza is to clear and hold while denying Hamas control over incoming aid trucks in the future to break the hold Hamas has over the population and cash flows within Gaza.

A single demonstration may not seem like a big deal and no doubt Hamas will violently brutalize & punish these civilians, many will be shot in the legs crippling them, or outright executed. However, over the course of months, as aid is shifted away from Hamas control via IDF pressure, the populace may become bolder and finally do what they have failed to do for almost 2 years now – Topple Hamas in Gaza.

Another wasn’t so kind: “Fun fact: If Hamas were winning, Gazans wouldn’t go and protest but rather celebrate and glorify Hamas as heroes. They don’t hate Hamas. They hate the consequences of the war.”

At the end of the day, we will see what happens in Gaza: one can hope the poster with hope is proven right and the skeptic wrong. But in either case, Hussain Abdul-Hussain — an astute analyst of both Middle Eastern politics and American politics — asks the key questions:

How would a student on a US college campus feel when they see impoverished Gazans taking to the streets, defying Hamas, and shouting “Hamas is terrorist”?
How would Rashida Tlaib feel?
How would Columbia Prof. Rashid Khalidi feel?

And one more question: When will the hostages come home?

Shoshana Bryen is Senior Director of The Jewish Policy Center and Editor of inFOCUS Quarterly magazine.

The post The Gaza Protests: ‘We Want to Live’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.