In Gaza, the long -ly Palestinians focus on their anger on Hamas

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. Sudarsan Raghavan, The Wall Street Journal 6 min Read May 17, 2025, 01:24 PM Ist crowds people sang ‘Hamas out’ with few consequences of the weakened militant group. Photo: Ahmad Salem/Bloomberg News Summary More people tired of the hungry, insomnia and still presence of Israeli air strikes, demonstrate against the militant group, as the Gaza War builds its 20th month near the Hamas build up of various fronts-not, the growing anger among the Palestinians who have had enough of the hunter, joint, joint pless and the Palestin Air strikes of Israeli forces. Israel says it began to expand its military offensive in the Gaza Strip, possibly moving more Palestinians and occupying the area. The ghost of hunger grows from two months of Israel blocking humanitarian aid in the beleaguered enclave after a fragile ceasefire has broken. It is planned that an American aid spread is planned, which, according to Israel, will prevent Hamas from benefiting from food and fuel deliveries to civilians. An Israeli air strike this week targeted Muhammad Sinwar, Hamas’s top leader in Gaza, which, if successful, would be a big blow to the militant group. But few expected Hamas to wrestle with the most visible internal challenge for his authority, as he seized the Gaza Strip in 2007: the people who claim to represent it. Hamas reigned hard, often jailed and killed or threatened or threatened in silence. Yet an exciting, continued resistance has contributed to the pressure on Hamas, especially in the north of Gaza, where the city of Beit Lahiya is the epicenter of protests against Hamas that started in March. After the protests broke out in the city, they quickly spread to other parts of the Gaza Strip. If ‘Hamas Out’ is sung, large crowds, often with great risk, have an end to the war and Hamas to bring control of the enclave. Since then, smaller but turbulent protests have taken place, where the fear of Hamas has apparently evaporated. On social media, influencers – many of their Palestinians in Egypt, Turkey, Europe and the US – are calling on Gazane to stand up against Hamas and strengthen the protests worldwide. They fill a void created by militant threats against journalists in Gaza, forcing many reporters to censor their coverage of opposition against Hamas, the committee said to protect journalists on Thursday. “I consider myself the voice of the protests,” says Hamza al-Masri, a Turkey-based influencer, who has more than 1.2 million followers on different platforms. “Hamas has terrorized people in Gaza.” What unfolds in Beit Lahiya and on social media opens a window in how Hamas misinterpreted the shift in sentiments of many Gazane. It also represents an unprecedented collective resistance to the militants. “The general feeling among Palestinians across Gaza, not just Beit Lahiya, is that Hamas doesn’t care about their lives or suffering,” says Mkhaimar Abusada, a professor of political science at the University of Azhar Gaza who now lives in Cairo. “The general feeling is that Hamas cares more about his own survival.” In Beit Lahiya, “they have lost a lot of their wealth, they have lost a lot of their cultivated land in this Israeli assault,” he added. “That’s why they talk loudly against Hamas.” A spokesman for Hamas did not respond to a request for comment on the dissatisfaction. Over the past days, the pressure on Hamas has tightened. Early Friday, Israeli air strikes Bit Lahiya and the nearby Jabaliya camp targeted, according to the Hamas-managed Gaza Ministery of Health. The Israeli army did not respond to a request for comment on the Beit Lahiya strikes. In a statement, the military said that the air force that called it more than 150 targets in the strip, including terrorist cells and military structures. Later, the Israeli army said it had done strikes over the past day and mobilized troops as part of an extensive offensive to take control in parts of Gaza. The strikes generate more dissatisfaction. “People are very angry,” said Ahmed Al Masri, 26, an activist in Beit Lahiya who says he has no connection to Hamas after the air strikes. “There is no safe place. What happens to us on the basis of the occupation and Hamas is absurd and insane. This anger is against Israel and Hamas. ‘ Hours before the air strikes, Hamas issued a statement claiming to released their last living US hostage on October 7, 2023 attacks, Edan Alexander, as a goodwill gesture for President Trump. A Hamas official said the concept was that his release would lead to the entry into humanitarian assistance in Gaza and negotiations for a permanent ceasefire. According to a US official, Alexander was released by Hamas without any conditions. While the protests subsided in most areas, while Gazans struggled with the deepening of hardships, such as finding food, medicine, clean water and shelter, a few hundred protesters took the streets in Beit Lahiya three weeks ago. According to one activist, there is a call for more protests on Saturday after the strikes on Friday. Nearly half of all Gazane supports the protests, according to a poll released earlier this month by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Recording Research, an independent non-profit location in Ramallah. Beit Lahiya, located four miles north of Gaza City and less than two miles of the Israeli border, is richer than most areas. Many of its approximately 100,000 population are farmers and agricultural workers who once thrived economic ties with Israel, especially the export of strawberries, after which the residents refer “red gold” and flowers across the border and Europe. Residents saw their properties being destroyed and resentment against Israel and Hamas. “Beit Lahiya was the vegetable and fruit basket of the entire Gaza Strip,” said a resident Yousef Rajab, 30. “We have lost our country, our livelihood. What’s left for us? ‘ Air strikes launched after the October 7, 2023, sent Hamas attacks on Israel crushed homes before Israel in land forces, forcing tens of thousands to flee. In mid -January, after a ceasefire, residents returned to their crushed neighborhoods, shocked by the destruction, residents and activists said. They started rebuilding their lives, but in March the ceasefire collapsed, while Israel launched further air strikes after talks to expand the ceasefire. Soon Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants arrived in Ahmed Al Masri’s neighborhood in Beit Lahiya. They began the introduction of rockets from sewer pipes to Israel, he and other residents said. Israeli forces then dropped leaflets on the city and ordered residents to vacate their homes again. These orders were the point, said residents, protest leaders and analysts. “That’s when things really exploded,” said Ahmed Al Masri. “People had enough. We didn’t want war. We didn’t want Hamas. ‘ Anger spread through the city, including influential families and old elders. They met with activists and residents who then called on Facebook to take people to the streets. Others went from door to door or drove a car with a speaker and encouraged protests. “The fear barrier was broken when the evacuation orders came,” Rajab said. Hamas quickly crashed on protests in previous years. This time, some militant protesters threatened and tried to disrupt the protests unsuccessfully. But the group, weakened by months of Israeli attacks, did not battle the open battle systematically. When the protests began at the end of March, Hamza Al Masri said he called some of the activists to express support from his base in Turkey. The 37-year-old influence, from Beit Hanoun, joined the militants as a teenager, dressed through their religious attitude and asks for Palestinian liberation, he said. By the late 20s, he was disillusioned. In 2017, Hamas’s militants kept him repeatedly, beat him and held him for as long as eight days to stop his critical social media posts. “I reached a point where I commit suicide or leave Gaza,” says Masri, who fled in the area in 2021. Like many Gazane, Masri initially expressed support for Hamas’s attacks on October 7, as it was a long response to Israel’s hard treatment of Palestinians. But when the war and suffering deepened, he changed his mind. In the last week poll, 37% of the Gazans said they approved the attacks on October 7 on October 7 in southern Israel, of 71% in March 2024. While thousands took the streets in front of Indonesian hospital in Beit Lahiya, Masri remained in contact with protesters and encouraged them to send videos and photos. He posted it on Telegram and other portals on social media. Many other social media influences around the world have also placed. The protests became viral. “It was clear that Beit Lahiya was not alone,” Masri said. Write to Sudarsan Raghavan at Sudarsan.raghavan@wsj.com, catch all the politics news and updates on live currency. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates and live business news. More Topics #Middle East Crisis Mint Specials