Palestinians in Gaza Protest Against Hamas Rule

Hundreds of Palestinians have taken to the streets of Gaza in a rare and direct display of anger against Hamas, blaming the Iran-backed group for plunging the territory into 16 months of devastation and bloodshed.

The protests, which are ongoing, erupted in Beit Lahia, where residents marched through the rubble of their town, chanting “Hamas, get out” and “Hamas are terrorists.” The Beit Lahia protest came just hours after Israeli evacuation orders for the town’s residents. Demonstrators held Hamas responsible for the orders, blaming the group for launching rockets from areas near the town toward Israeli communities.

Gaza’s Anti-Hamas Protests Are Spontaneous and Not Linked to Any Political Entity

After the war resumed on March 18, Gazans began voicing their frustration with Hamas on social media, rallying around the hashtag “Hamas, stop the war.” What started as online dissent quickly turned into public gatherings, with citizens holding signs that read “Our kids’ blood is not cheap.” These gatherings escalated into full-scale demonstrations, with demonstrators chanting, “The people want to topple Hamas.”

Notably, the protests have not endorsed any political leader or party. Their focus remains singular — ending the war, which they blame on Hamas. Despite calls from officials of Fatah — Hamas’s political rivals — urging the Iran-backed group to “listen to the voice of the people” and step aside, anti-Hamas Palestinian factions played no role in sparking demonstrations.

The protests have been fierce in northern Gaza, where devastation is absolute and where families still live in tents. With no area hit harder by the war, many are now calling the uprising the “Tent Intifada.” Protests also took place in areas such as Deir al-Balah in central Gaza and the Shujaiya neighborhood of Gaza City.

Hamas’s Reaction

The BBC reported that masked Hamas terrorists, some armed with guns, and others wielding batons, forcibly dispersed protesters, assaulting several of them. However, the group’s weakened military capabilities have also reduced its ability to police Gaza as extensively and effectively as before.

Hamas’s Media Office in Gaza dismissed the protests, claiming, “Any slogans or spontaneous positions expressed by some protesters against the resistance approach do not reflect the general national stance. Rather, they are a result of the unprecedented pressure faced by our people and the occupation’s continuous attempts to incite internal strife.” The terrorist group has since called for a global mobilization on March 28-30 to support “Gaza, Jerusalem, and Al-Aqsa” while condemning “Zionist crimes.”

Meanwhile, the Qatari-owned broadcaster Al Jazeera, which has served as a mouthpiece for Hamas throughout the war — airing exclusive videos of its military spokesperson Abu Obeida and amplifying Hamas’s narrative and psychological warfare — has been notably silent on the Gaza protests. Unlike its usual saturation coverage of events in Gaza, Al Jazeera failed to dispatch its many on-the-ground reporters to Beit Lahia, prompting protesters to chant, “where are the journalists?” On its website, the network has ignored the protests entirely, instead focusing its Gaza coverage on Israeli airstrikes and Hamas’s calls for global demonstrations.

Israel and the Growing Anti-Hamas Sentiment in Gaza

Israel should view these protests as a strategic advantage — if they persist, they will intensify pressure on Hamas. The group will be forced to either meet the people’s demands or violently suppress the demonstrations. Either outcome weakens Hamas: conceding threatens its grip on power, while repression undermines its image as a “resistance” force and risks Hamas being viewed as killing its own people.

The United States should use the ongoing events in Gaza to reinforce to its Arab allies that Hamas must have no role in governing Gaza or maintaining military power in the future. Any post-war Arab plan for Gaza must explicitly include this provision to ensure long-term stability.

Ahmad Sharawi is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where he focuses on Middle East affairs, specifically the Levant, Iraq, and Iranian intervention in Arab affairs, as well as U.S. foreign policy toward the region. For more analysis from Ahmad and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Ahmad on X @AhmadA_Sharawi. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.