Palestinians Hold Rare Protest of Hamas03/26 06:20

   

   CAIRO (AP) -- Palestinians chanted against Hamas during an anti-war protest 
in the Gaza Strip, according to videos circulating online. It was a rare show 
of public anger against the militant group, which has long repressed dissent 
and still rules the territory 17 months into the war with Israel.

   The videos, which appeared to be authentic, showed hundreds of people taking 
part in an anti-war protest in the heavily destroyed northern town of Beit 
Lahiya on Tuesday. People held signs saying "Stop the war," "We refuse to die," 
and "The blood of our children is not cheap."

   Some could be heard chanting: "Hamas out!" Other videos appeared to show 
Hamas supporters dispersing the crowds.

   "We are sick of the bombing, killing and displacement," Ammar Hassan, a 
young man from Beit Lahiya who took part in the protest.

   He said it started as an anti-war protest with just a few dozen people but 
then swelled to more than 2,000, with people chanting against Hamas.

   "It's the only party we can affect," he said over the phone. "Protests won't 
stop the (Israeli) occupation, but it can affect Hamas," he said.

   "The protest was not about politics. It was about people's lives," said 
Mohammed Abu Saker, a father of three from the nearby town of Beit Hanoun, who 
joined the demonstration.

   "We want to stop the killing and displacement, no matter the price. We can't 
stop Israel from killing us, but we can press Hamas to give concessions," he 
said.

   A statement released by family elders from Beit Lahiya expressed support for 
the protests against Israel's offensive and its tightened blockade. They also 
said the community fully supports armed resistance against Israel and rejects 
"any attempt to exploit legitimate popular demands by a fifth column," 
apparently referring to opponents of Hamas.

   The protests erupted a week after Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas by 
launching a surprise wave of strikes that killed hundreds of people. Earlier 
this month, Israel halted deliveries of food, fuel, medicine and humanitarian 
aid to Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians.

   Israel has vowed to escalate the war until Hamas returns the 59 hostages it 
still holds -- 24 of whom are believed to be alive. Israel is also demanding 
that the group give up power, disarm and send its leaders into exile. Hamas has 
said it will only release the remaining captives in exchange for Palestinian 
prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

   The war was triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel, in which 
Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 
251. Hamas has said only a handful of its top commanders knew about the attack 
ahead of time.

   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. Israel's bombardment and ground operations have caused vast 
destruction and at their height displaced some 90% of Gaza's population.

   Hamas won a landslide victory in the last Palestinian elections, held in 
2006. It seized power in Gaza from the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, 
dominated by the secular Fatah movement, the following year after months of 
factional unrest and a week of heavy street battles.

   Rights groups say both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas violently 
suppress dissent, quashing protests in the areas they control and jailing and 
torturing critics.