Palestinians in northern Gaza staged the largest protest against Hamas on Tuesday since its assaults on Israel on October 7, 2023.
In northern Gaza, thousands of protesters are taking to the streets of Beit Lahia, chanting, “Hamas terrorists,” “For God’s sake, Hamas out.”
A message shared on social media appeared to call for nine anti-Hamas demonstrations across Gaza on Wednesday.
The protests have emerged following the report from the health ministry in the enclave, indicating that the death toll in Gaza has exceeded 50,000 as of Sunday.
A militant group took control of the territory in 2007 following an election in 2006 and a short civil war with Fatah, a rival Palestinian faction that is the foundation of the Palestinian Authority. The territory is home to 2.1 million Palestinians.
In response to the attacks on October 7, Israel initiated a military offensive that has had a devastating impact on northern Gaza. War has ravaged the enclave for seventeen months, reducing much of it to rubble and blocking aid from reaching the devastated north.
After talks to prolong a ceasefire broke down in early March, Israel announced it would halt all aid from entering Gaza, further exacerbating the crisis in the enclave, which depends nearly entirely on humanitarian assistance.
The militant group denies Israel’s repeated accusations that it stole aid meant for the enclave and used it to bolster its military capabilities.
On Sunday, UNRWA announced that the siege on Gaza had persisted for three weeks longer than during the initial phase of the war and that no supplies of food, water, medicine, or fuel had reached the territory.
In a social media post on Sunday, UNRWA warned that Gaza inches closer to an acute hunger crisis with each passing day without food.
