In a rare show of public anger, hundreds of Palestinians took to the streets of northern Gaza on Wednesday demanding an end to the conflict and calling on Hamas to step down.
Videos shared on social media showed mostly men chanting “out, Hamas, out” and comes a day after similar demonstrations against the militant group.
It still rules the enclave 17 months into its devastating war with Israel which has reduced much of the enclave into rubble and caused untold misery for its residents.
Earlier this month, Israel halted deliveries of food, fuel, medicine, and humanitarian aid to Gaza’s roughly two million Palestinians.
Gazans generally blame Israel for the death and destruction the conflict has brought, but at least some hold Hamas responsible as well.
Their anger appears to have resurfaced after Israel resumed its military campaign in Gaza following a nearly two-month ceasefire.
In parliament on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated threats to seize territory in the Gaza Strip if Hamas does not release the remaining hostages it holds.
“The more Hamas persists in its refusal to release our hostages, the more powerful the pressure we will exert. And I say to Hamas, this includes seizing territory, and other things that I will not list here,” he said.
Israel has vowed to escalate the war until Hamas returns the 59 hostages it still holds,24 of whom are believed to be alive still. It is also demanding that the group gives up power and disarms.
Hamas has said it will only release the remaining captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire, and an Israeli withdrawal from the enclave.
Gaza’s health ministry said at least 830 people have been killed in the enclave since Israel resumed large-scale strikes last week.
Pro-Hamas supporters have downplayed the significance of the protests and accuse Palestinians taking part in them of being traitors.
The war was triggered by Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attack into Israel, in which Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 50,000 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants.
Source: Africanews
