Sudersan Raghavan, Suha Ma’ayeh and Carrie Keller-Lynn
WSJ, Mar. 26, 2025
Palestinians took to the streets against Hamas in Gaza again on Wednesday, a day after hundreds protested, in a sign of deepening anger at the militant group as frustration over the destruction of their homes and lives spills into the open.
“Out, out, Hamas out,” crowds shouted in the Shujaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, echoing chants from Tuesday’s protests, according to a video verified by Storyful.
Some Palestinians appeared defiant in the face of a possible crackdown by Hamas, which has controlled the enclave of about two million people with a firm grip and is unlikely to accept widespread dissent.
Hamas tried to suppress Tuesday’s protests, but at least one of its fighters was beaten by the crowd, said Abu Tamer, a resident of Beit Lahiya, the epicenter of the demonstrations in the northern Gaza Strip.
“Hamas did not prevent the protests because they completely disappeared from the streets. They cannot stand up to the population who are against them,” Abu Tamer said.
To some extent, the demonstrations—and the outright defiance—reflect the weakened position of Hamas after 17 months of war, analysts said. In 2019, Hamas brutally cracked down on Palestinians protesting against worsening economic conditions, subjecting them to beatings, detentions and torture, human-rights activists documented. …SOURCE