When an Israeli air attack passed through a building in the center of Beit Lahia on Monday night, the agricultural community of the northernmost part of Gaza was already on the edge of an Israeli evacuation order hours before.
The events shook the city’s residents and reminded them of the dangers of the war between Israel and Hamas, but also helped catalyze rare demonstrations against Hamas in Gaza. For three consecutive days, hundreds of people have left Through the city to demand the end of both the war and the 18 -year -old Hamas rule on Gaza, the public protests that have spread to various towns of the abused enclave.
« Hamas has to leave, » said Ahmad al-Masri, 26, a resident of Beit Lahia, who helped call the rallies. « If you do not, the bloodshed, wars and destruction will not stop. »
Although most of the demonstrations have been small, they represent the most daring challenge for Hamas authority for Palestinians in Gaza since the attack by Hamas to Israel in October 2023 and the next war, which has reduced cities in the rubble.
They also embody the frustration of the Palestinians who live again deadly bombings and destroyed After Israel and Hamas did not reach an agreement to expand the cessation of fire. It makes it clear that at least a few Palestinians have left their fears about the potential remuneration of Hamas, who has governed Gaza with a heavy hand.
« We have nothing to lose, » Al-Masri said. « We’ve lost our lives, houses and money. »
Prior to the 2023 attack, Hamas was brutally fixed against the Palestinians Protestant due to the miserable living conditions in Gaza and recognized the protest organizers. But during the last protests, Hamas’s internal security forces have greatly abstained from falling. This, according to the analysts, was probably a reflection of the two Hamas delicate position with Gazans and its reduction in the ability to mobilize forces under the threat of Israeli aerial attacks.
« How can this movement face? With strength? This would cause an even greater anger, » said Akram Atallah, a Palestinian analyst in the northern city of Gaza de Jabaliya. Fear that Israel could try to kill security officers, maybe he may not deploy them, he added.
But on Thursday, Hamas operators who used sticks banned the demonstration media coverage in Beit Lahia. The protest, which included hundreds of people, still advanced.
Hamas still has a follower base in Gaza. Some of them have remained calm while the protests occurred this week, while others have tried to make doubts on social media on the reasons for protests, saying that at the service of foreign agendas, without providing credible evidence.
The first protest took place in Beit Lahia at around 4 p.m. on Tuesday. Last night, community members sent a message asking residents to go out.
« The square calls you, » said a screenshot of the message, shared with the New York Times. « Enough of wars. We want to live in peace. »
The message took place shortly after Avichay Adraee, the Arabic language spokesman for the Israeli military, published an order for people to evacuate Beit Lahia to their social media accounts. Shortly afterwards, an air attack fell to the city, the residents said.
Asked about the strike, the Israeli military said he operated against Hamas’s military capabilities, without addressing the specific case. Israeli has accused Hamas of operating in civilian areas as a result of the October 7 attack.
In the interviews, protesters said they were waiting for Hamas to resign from Gaza control and would eliminate any reason for Israel to continue to attack, forcing the end of the war.
« We cannot accept that we all have to die to keep power in power, » said Sharif al-Buheisi, 56, a resident of Deir al-Balah in the center of Gaza who participated in a protest on Wednesday. Al-Buheisi is an activist in Fatah, a rival of Hamas, and served as an administrator at the Al-Azhar university in the city of Gaza before the war.
The Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has said that Israel would not end the war until the military wing and the government of Hamas were dismantled, while Hamas has expressed the desire to relinquish only the civil government’s control, not his weapons.
For Mr. Al-Buheisi, an important element of protests was to promote the idea-which some Israelis had-that all Gaza supported Hamas and terrorism.
« We are claiming that we are a people who love life and our children, » he said.
According to protesters, protests included the participation of Mukhtars, the local leaders of villages and villages that remain with large parts of their communities. Prior to the first march in Beit Lahia, several young people approached Mukhtars to support the initiative, according to Mr. Al-Masri and Hassan Saad, another resident of the city. They offered their blessings.
« We are saying that we want to live in dignity, » said Hisham al-Birawi, 64, a Mukhtar in Beit Lahia. « We want to live like anyone else. »
Nader Ibrahim Contributed reports.
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