‘For God’s Sake, Hamas Out’: Palestinians in Gaza Protest Ruling Terror Group, Larger Demonstrations to Come

Jack Elbaum

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Palestinians protest to demand an end to war, chanting anti-Hamas slogans, in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, March 26, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stringer

Palestinians staged a large anti-Hamas protest in the northern Gaza city of Beit Lahia on Tuesday, and there are indications it is just the first of many to come.

Thousands of people gathered and marched through Beit Lahia chanting anti-Hamas slogans such as “Down with Hamas, we’ve had enough,” For God’s sake, Hamas out,” “we want an end to the war,” and “Hamas terrorists.”

One Gazan said, “Their rule has destroyed us, killed us, and ruined our lives — and all of us here in Beit Lahia stand firmly to end Hamas’s rule.”

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Hamas, which brutally seized full control of Gaza in 2007, sparked the current war in the Palestinian enclave when it invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping 251 hostages. The ensuing conflict has resulted in massive losses for Hamas but also created a humanitarian crisis among Gazan civilians.

Anger with Hamas among Gaza’s population is strong. A recent poll from the Institute for Social and Economic Progress showed that only 6 percent of Gazans want Hamas to exclusively rule the enclave after the war, and even fewer said they would vote for them if elections were held today. However, 38 percent expressed support for a unity government, which would presumably include Hamas in power as part of a coalition with other Palestinian factions.

The crowds at the protest in Beit Lahia on Tuesday were likely larger than they were at any of the Hamas-orchestrated hostage release parades, where aerial photography suggested they were smaller than what Hamas wanted to present to the world.

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Later in the night, protests erupted in the Gazan cities of Khan Younis and Jabaliya as well, with one man explaining to a camera, “We want world nations and leaders to get Hamas out of Gaza — we don’t want Hamas!” The protests also continued on Wednesday morning.

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These protests will likely not be the only ones. Some of the major clans in Gaza have come out in support of a protest movement against Hamas.

The Assembly of Southern Gaza clans released a statement against Hamas, saying, “Enough is enough — a popular uprising against injustice. No more playing with our lives, our children’s future, or disregarding our suffering. Gaza is not anyone’s hostage; Gaza will be liberated by the will of its people.”

Another statement, released by the clans of Shuja’iyya in northern Gaza, read, “We call on you to take to the streets in a popular march of anger rejecting the continuation of the war, and demanding the lifting of Hamas’s control over the Gaza Strip, so that life can return to its people and our ongoing suffering can come to an end.”

Gazan activists were reportedly gearing up for a continuation of the protests on Wednesday, with them taking place across the Strip in Deir al-Balah Camp, Jabalia Camp, Nuseirat, Gaza City, Al-Shati Camp, Khan Younis, Shuja’iyya, and Beit Lahia.

Khalil Sayegh, co-founder and president of the Agora Initiative, which aims to create “a shared vision for Palestine and Israel,” wrote on X that “if you have been following accounts that report daily updates on Gaza, you may have noticed that some have disappeared or gone silent today since news came out about protesters against Hamas.”

“These individuals are either ideologues or propagandists for Hamas, and soon they will come up with a new narrative to spread on this issue. Someone in Turkey will likely send them the memo soon,” he continued.

Sayegh also wrote, “You won’t see this picture of Palestinians in Gaza protesting against Hamas on media. Many media outlets want to dehumanize Palestinians by claiming they all support Hamas, while far-left and pro-Palestine media won’t report it because it undermines their narrative about Hamas.”

Some observers are attempting to change the narrative regarding the protests, claiming they are primarily being held to oppose Israel but not Hamas.

Anas Al-Shareef, a journalist for the Qatar-based news network Al Jazeera, wrote on X that there were protests to “stop the genocide. The massacres continue. Marches in Beit Lahia demand an end to the war and genocide.”

In response, Hamza Howidy, a Palestinian human rights and peace activist, wrote that “Al Jazeera’s journalist, who hid while the protestors were looking for anyone to cover the anti-war & anti-Hamas protests, is working to change the narrative and the demands of the protestors; we want to end the war and Hamas to step down from ruling Gaza.”

“The massive anti-Hamas, anti-war protests in Gaza are not PLO, PA, or Fatah organized,” wrote Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, who is the head of Realign for Palestine, a project of the Atlantic Council, where he is a resident senior fellow.

“They are organic, popular-led, and entirely authentic expressions of frustrations, anger, rage, fury, and exhaustion by a people being held hostage by Hamas’s ruthless terrorism & criminality.”

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