Gazans took to the streets on Thursday for the third straight day, protesting the Hamas terrorist regime that has forced them into a devastating war against Israel. The protests took place in northern Gaza’s Jabalia and Beit Lahiya and in central Gaza City.
Chants and signs heard at the Thursday rallies included the slogans, “Hamas out,” “Al Jazeera out,” “Hamas are terrorists,” and “The people want to overthrow Hamas.”
According to social media posts from organizers, another round of protests was also scheduled for Friday.
Bystanders claimed that masked Hamas terrorists observed the protests, while others claimed to have received death threats from Hamas.
Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim, in a post on Facebook, wrote that people had the right to protest but that their focus should be on the “criminal aggressor,” Israel.
Hamas issued a joint statement with other Gaza terror groups, warning that those participating in the protests would be treated as Israel collaborators. Ihab Hasan, a Palestinian Christian human rights activist, posted the warning on Twitter, explaining, “Hamas has issued a statement accusing the protesters of being responsible for the collapse of negotiations with Israel, claiming that Israel withdrew from the talks because of them. The statement goes further, vowing to treat the protesters as “collaborators with Israel.”
“In other words, Hamas is openly threatening to kill protesters—a grave and dangerous escalation,” Hasan added.
