For the second in a row, hundreds of Palestinians took to the streets in the Gaza Strip on March 27, shouting slogans and the Hamas Movement and calling for an end to the war with Israel.
The protests appeared to be aimed generally against the war, with protesters calling for an end to 17 months of fighting with Israel, which claimed the lives of over 50,000 Palestinians and destroyed much of the strike. At the same time, the anti-Hamas sentiment was very clear.
Protestors carrying banners reading “Hamas does not represent us” and changing “hey, hey, Hamas are terrorists” were seen marching in Gaza City and the town of Beit Lahiya in the north of the Strip.
In Beit Lahiya, where a similar but far smaller protest took place on March 25, about 3,000 people demonstrated, with many chanting, “The people want the fall of Hamas.” Meanwhile in the war-torn Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza City, dozens of men chanted, “Out, out out! Hamas get out!.”
Israel resumed its offensive on Gaza on March 18, shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that was brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar last January. Since then, Israeli troops have reoccupied key areas in the Strip without taking any losses or facing any resistance.
Defense Minister IsraelKatz on March 26 urged Gazans to step up the protests, saying that ousting Hamas was their only chance of ending the war.
“Gaza residents, the IDF will soon operate with intensity in additional areas in Gaza and you will be required to evacuate for your protection from the combat zones,” Katz stated in a video message that included an Arabic-language statement.
“The plans are ready and approved. Hamas is risking your life and will make you lose your homes and more and more land that will be added to the Israeli defense array,” the minister said, referring to an expanding buffer zone along the Gaza border that Israel has set up.
“Learn from the residents of Beit Lahiya, as they did, you should also demand the removal of Hamas from Gaza and the immediate release of all Israeli hostages. This is the only way to stop the war,” he added.
Commenting on the protests, senior Hamas official Basem Naim told the Qatari channel Al-Araby on March 27 that “demonstrations are expected from people facing extermination, against war and destruction.”
“People are calling to stop the aggression, but the enemy and other parties with political agendas are diverting the spontaneous protests to serve the occupation’s agenda and trying to portray it as if the demonstrators are against the resistance,” he said.
“Those who are trying to portray the protests as demonstrations against Hamas are the same people who have been doing this for years from Arab and European cities to serve (foreign) interests,” he added, without specifying which actors he was referring to.
It’s worth noting that Israel has assassinated more than a dozen senior officials and military commanders from Hamas and other groups in Gaza since resuming its offensive on the Strip. The latest to be killed was Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif al-Qanou, who was targeted by a strike on March 26.
Overall, Hamas is facing increasing external and political pressure. At the same time, the group’s military wing appears to be suffering from a severe case of war fatigue with no ability to organize meaningful defenses in any part of the Strip.
The recent developments could force Hamas to accept a new ceasefire agreement with conditions more favorable to Israel.
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