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The rare dissent, some directed against the territory’s Hamas rulers, reflects deep frustration and anger at the breakdown of a cease-fire with Israel. “We want to live,” said one supporter.
By Abu Bakr BashirIyad AbuheweilaHiba Yazbek and Rawan Sheikh Ahmad
Abu Bakr Bashir reported from London, Iyad Abuheweila from Istanbul, Hiba Yazbek from Jerusalem and Rawan Sheikh Ahmad from Haifa, Israel.
March 26, 2025, 1:52 p.m. ET
Palestinians in Gaza protested against the war for a second straight day on Wednesday and chanted slogans against Hamas, frustrated and angry over the collapse of a cease-fire with Israel that many had hoped would become permanent.
The protests were rare shows of dissent against Hamas, the armed group that has ruled Gaza for 17 years with an iron fist and which started a 15-month war by leading the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Most of the demonstrations have been small so far, but the main ones on Tuesday and Wednesday in the heavily damaged northern town of Beit Lahiya appear to have drawn hundreds of people, according to witnesses. The numbers could not be independently verified, though videos showed significant crowds.
Some Gazans say the protests began as a spontaneous outpouring of emotion, but there were indications on Wednesday that they were becoming more organized. Over the past two days, there has been a notable increase in calls on social media from Palestinians inside Gaza to come out into the streets and demonstrate against Hamas’s rule and its conduct of the war with Israel.
On Wednesday, hundreds of people gathered for the second straight day in Beit Lahiya, some chanting “Hamas out! Hamas is terrorism!” and “We want to live freely.” There was another smaller protest in Gaza City, also in the north, with chants against Hamas.
Videos from the Tuesday protests, verified by The New York Times, showed groups of Gazans in the half-ruined streets of Beit Lahiya. Some carried signs that opposed the continuation of the war, while others chanted slogans calling for Hamas to get out.
