About a year and seven months have passed since Israel launched the “Iron Swords” war in response to Hamas’s deadly terrorist attack on Israeli communities surrounding Gaza on October 7, 2023. In recent weeks, we have witnessed a continuous wave of demonstrations and protest activity against Hamas rule in various parts of the Gaza Strip, particularly in its northern areas, led by Palestinian residents. These events may eventually prove to be a significant and noteworthy junction in the broader context of progress toward a new hostage deal and in shaping possible scenarios for the post-war reality in Gaza.
The protests against Hamas rule began in northern Gaza as a reaction to the dire humanitarian situation and with an apparent, unequivocal demand to reach an agreement with Israel and end the war. In the background of these events was Israel’s decision at the end of March 2025 to increase pressure on Hamas—both in the civilian domain by halting the transfer of humanitarian aid through the crossings and militarily through renewed IDF operations supported by close intelligence coordination with the Shin Bet, targeting Hamas infrastructure and operatives as part of the continuation of the “Iron Swords” operation (now dubbed “Oz VeHerev”—“Valor and Sword”).
In practice, the current wave of grassroots protests began on March 25 in Beit Lahia. According to information passed to the author by Palestinians in the Strip, behind the protests were Fatah activists and others affiliated with the “Badna Na’eesh” (“We Want to Live”) group, which had previously organized grassroots protest actions against Hamas and had been arrested and tortured as a result. Hundreds of Palestinians demonstrated against Hamas rule, chanting slogans such as “Hamas out” and “No to Al Jazeera.” The protest chants against the Qatari satellite channel came in response to claims that it refrained from covering the anti-Hamas demonstrations, thereby blatantly ignoring the sentiments of a population facing escalating hardships as a result of continued clashes with IDF forces—hardships that fuel the public’s growing desire to end the war.
This position was recently echoed by the head of the Beit Lahia Council, who issued a direct and bold statement stressing that “Hamas must immediately remove its hand from Gaza and end the siege imposed on us due to decisions that do not represent us.” He called on all residents “to take to the streets and make our voice heard to the world: Gaza is no one’s hostage. The will of its people will free Gaza.” Strong words, indeed.
“It’s Time to Raise Our Voice”
The protests in Beit Lahia sparked a wider wave of demonstrations across additional areas in the Gaza Strip. On the following day, March 26, protests against Hamas rule continued in Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, the Shuja’iyya and Zeitoun neighborhoods of Gaza City, Deir al-Balah, the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Strip, and the southern city of Khan Yunis.
The motivations that led Palestinians to participate in the protests and raise their voices actively can be understood through the Arabic and English signs they carried, which included slogans such as: “We want to live in peace and security,” “Enough destruction,” “Stop the war,” “Enough wars,” “We refuse to die,” “Hamas out,” “Hamas is a terrorist organization,” “The message is clear—Hamas is garbage,” “No to Al Jazeera.”
In recent weeks, similar messages have also flooded social media, emphasizing the anti-Hamas sentiment. Posts included statements like: “Overthrowing Hamas is a religious, national, human, social, and economic duty” and references to the unbearable situation of the population, such as: “We were silent for 18 years of wars and terror—now it’s time to raise our voice,” “Get the whole Strip out, we want to live,” “Neutrality in the face of people’s pain is betrayal—now the time of fear and silence is over.” During the protests, there were also calls in various locations urging Hamas to return the hostages to Israel to bring the war to an end.
Although it hasn’t admitted this openly, it’s clear that the Hamas leadership—both in Gaza and abroad—is deeply troubled by the protests and signs of dissent. As a result, it has tried to deflect the anger and redirect the criticism toward Israel. From Hamas’s perspective, the immediate goal is to contain the protests, limit them, and prevent their expansion into a sweeping uprising against the organization, which could destabilize its grip on power and endanger its continued rule.
Deflecting the Blame On Israel
Hamas’s response to the protests against its rule was not extended in coming. The organization’s operations rushed to settle scores with the organizers and participants of the demonstrations. On March 29, six Palestinians were executed on charges of collaborating with Israel, among them a resident of the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood, 22-year-old Udai al-Ruba’i. After calling for protests against Hamas, al-Ruba’i was kidnapped by Hamas operatives and brutally tortured—he was dragged with a rope around his neck, beaten all over his body with clubs and iron rods in front of passersby, and returned to his family while dying. From conversations I held with Palestinians in recent days, it emerged that during al-Ruba’i’s funeral, loud cries against Hamas were heard, and some of his relatives carried weapons and even fired into the air—a clear message to those responsible for the murder that revenge is only a matter of time. Another Gaza resident, Hussam al-Majdalawi, who called during protests for Hamas’s rule to end, was also kidnapped by the organization’s operatives, beaten in front of residents, shot in the legs, and left wounded.
To deal with the protests and deflect the criticism, Hamas released a statement on March 25 on behalf of the Palestinian resistance factions. The statement expressed “solidarity with the people’s demands to stop the war and open the crossings” while urging Palestinians “to be vigilant and cautious of any attempt to divert the protests to threaten national unity, drive a wedge between one people, and incite against the resistance.” The statement concluded with a message aimed at Israel, hinting at the socio-political crisis unfolding there in recent years. It claimed that “Israel awaits and seeks to hatch schemes against our people, export its crises onto us, and drag the fireball into our internal arena.”
As mentioned, in response to the demonstrations, Hamas leaders stated that Israel was behind them. Bassem Naim, a senior figure in Hamas’s political bureau, emphasized in a March 27 statement that the protests were not directed against Hamas but rather against Israel. According to him, “It is expected that a people subjected to mass extermination for over 17 months would raise their voice against the killings and destruction, demanding an end to the aggression. The resistance has given everything necessary, upheld the agreement, and demonstrated full resolve to end this war.”
Naim also claimed that the protests were not aimed at Hamas, asserting that individuals with “narrow political interests” tried to distort and misrepresent the intentions behind the protests in ways that served Israel “and to portray them as if the Palestinians were taking to the streets in protest against the resistance project.” He added that Hamas “does not prohibit anyone from expressing criticism or crying out in protest. But we know and see that people took to the streets to demand an end to the aggression, to the war, and to the mass extermination and starvation.”
Israel Watches with Encouragement
From the Palestinian Authority’s perspective, the protests against Hamas’s rule are seen as a golden opportunity to promote a process by which the Authority would regain control over the Gaza Strip. In a statement from a senior Fatah official during an interview with Israeli media, it was revealed that Palestinian Authority operatives recently transferred funds to Gaza to encourage continued protests against Hamas. More explicit remarks regarding Fatah’s intentions for ruling Gaza after the war were made by Fatah spokesperson in Gaza, Munther al-Hayek, who called on Hamas “to listen to the voice of the people” and to step down from power, allowing the Palestinian Authority and the PLO to fulfill their roles in the Strip.
Furthermore, in his statement, al-Hayek stressed that Hamas’s presence “has become a threat to the Palestinian cause, and it must reassess its position and listen to the voices rising in Gaza to save the residents of the devastated territory.”
Fatah supporters published a statement on March 25, which they claimed was issued by clans in Gaza. This message, which was shown to me and published at the end of March 2025, emphasized that “there is no more room for silence or waiting” after “years of repression, hunger, and destruction,” and therefore called on Palestinians in Gaza “to launch a popular intifada and rage marches that will shake the ground beneath the feet of those who have embittered our lives and exploited our suffering for their narrow interests.”
It appears that Israel is drawing encouragement from the protests and expressions of dissent against Hamas’s rule and is even giving overt voice to these sentiments. On March 28, Defense Minister Israel Katz released a video message in which he called on Palestinians in Gaza to join the residents of Beit Lahia who took to the streets. In the video, accompanied by Arabic subtitles, the minister urged Palestinians to demand the removal of Hamas and the immediate release of all hostages as “the only way to stop the war.” He also added that the IDF is preparing to expand operations in the Strip and intends to act forcefully in additional areas, from which residents will be required to evacuate.
“The plans are ready and approved,” Katz emphasized, declaring that “Hamas endangers your lives and will cause you to lose your lives and more territory that will be annexed to Israel’s defense system.” He also referred to the consequences of Hamas leaders’ actions during the war, stating in this context that “The first Sinwar destroyed Gaza, and the second Sinwar is willing to burn half of Gaza with his own hands just to try and preserve his corrupt rule and that of his fellow Hamas murderers and rapists. They and their families sit safely in tunnels or luxury hotels with billion-dollar accounts in foreign banks and use you as hostages.” He concluded that Israel’s primary goal is “to return the hostages, and if Hamas continues its refusal, it will pay an increasingly heavy price in territory and the elimination of operatives and terror infrastructure until its complete defeat.” This statement undoubtedly conveyed an unequivocal message to Hamas regarding Israel’s immediate war objectives and the consequences if the organization continues its intransigence in promoting a hostage release deal.
Looking Ahead – Toward the Trump Plan
A preliminary summary of the protests and unusual expressions of dissent that have taken place in the Gaza Strip in recent weeks yields two central and highly significant insights regarding their potential impact on future scenarios.
The first insight arising from the events is that more than a year and a half since the beginning of the war against Hamas, the Palestinian population is now approaching a breaking point. This is due to the severe humanitarian crisis and the constraints imposed on residents on the ground as a result of IDF operations, which have forced them to relocate multiple times to alternative locations. It is important to note that the IDF has recently been establishing an operational presence in extensive areas, amounting to roughly one-third of the Gaza Strip’s territorial space.
The second insight pertains to the significance of residents taking to the streets in public and open protests against Hamas’s rule. From their perspective, this reflects breaking the fear barrier and a growing sense that they have reached their limit and have nothing left to lose, thus demonstrating a rising willingness to confront and take risks. This readiness is also evident in the fact that protesters are not afraid to voice open criticism of Hamas and carry signs with slogans expressing such sentiments—even though they are fully aware that this is akin to “playing with fire.”
It is challenging to assess whether the protests will gain momentum, spread more widely across the Strip—geographically and in terms of the number of participants—and eventually become a dramatic, groundbreaking, and reality-altering development. There is, of course, also the possibility that Hamas will ultimately manage to contain the protests, suppress them, and neutralize their problematic potential for bringing about change, reducing them to fleeting, episodic expressions of popular dissent with no real impact.
Under the current circumstances, Israel certainly has a role to play and must take advantage of the situation in Gaza to improve its position and intensify the pressure on Hamas. Achieving this goal requires Israel to continue its military operations, taking control of additional areas to demonstrate to Hamas the cost of its ongoing defeat in the war. The IDF’s actions against Hamas’s fighting forces and its operational infrastructure (tunnels, weapons stockpiles, etc.), alongside the continued targeted eliminations of commanders and field operatives, as well as the ongoing halt of humanitarian aid transfers, could, from my perspective, prove to be a decisive move. Such a move could break the deadlock and advance the achievement of Israel’s war objectives—freeing the hostages and toppling Hamas as a military force and governing body.
Israel must also assist in promoting the implementation of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan for the voluntary emigration of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. This should be done discreetly and without extensive media coverage, which could negatively impact the continuation of the initiative. At the same time, Israel must adopt, to the extent possible and by objective circumstances, the goal of securing the release of all hostages—both living and deceased—in a single phase.
