Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has been on the receiving end of heavy Israeli airstrikes, now has an additional problem to deal with – the anger of the very people of Gaza, whom they claim to fight for. Over the past few days, Gaza has seen an unprecedented uprising, where thousands of Palestinians took to the streets, chanting slogans against Hamas, which has been ruling the enclave for the past 17 years.
The rare protest against Hamas follows the breakdown of the ceasefire between Israel and the militant group, due to which the IDF has resumed airstrikes in Gaza.
According to reports, protests were seen in Beit Lahiya, Gaza City, Nuseirat, and Deir al-Balah on Tuesday and Wednesday, where hundreds of demonstrators were seen at each rally.
Local leaders in the southern part of Gaza reportedly issued a statement calling for a "popular uprising" and demanding Hamas end its rule. Similar calls were issued in other areas.
The protesters are blaming Hamas for the breakdown of the ceasefire and the renewed airstrikes, which have claimed hundreds of Palestinian lives in the past few days.
Hamas, in a statement posted on its Telegram channel Wednesday, however, blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the failure of the ceasefire agreement.
Meanwhile, Hamas has confirmed that its spokesperson Abdel-Latif Al-Qanoua has been killed in an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza. Al-Qanoua was killed when his tent was targeted in Jabalia, the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa television said.
Earlier this week, Israeli airstrikes had killed two members of the Hamas political office.
Ismail Barhoum, a member of Hamas' political office, and Salah al-Bardaweel, another senior leader of the outfit, were killed in two different airstrikes.
The Hamas political office had a total of 20 members, out of which 11 have been killed since the start of the war in October 2023.
As Hamas continues to be squeezed from various corners, PM Netanyahu threatened Wednesday to seize parts of Gaza if the militants did not release the remaining hostages.
"The more Hamas persists in its refusal to release our hostages, the stronger the pressure we will exert. This includes the seizure of territories, along with other measures I will not elaborate here," Netanyahu told parliament.
Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack, 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Hamas responded to Netanyahu's threats, saying the hostages would return in coffins if Israel did not stop bombing Gaza.
"Every time the (Israeli) occupation attempts to retrieve its captives by force, it ends up bringing them back in coffins," Hamas said in a statement.
The group said it was "doing everything possible to keep the occupation's captives alive", but that "the random Zionist bombardment is endangering their lives".
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