{"id":512516,"date":"2026-06-26T18:17:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T18:17:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/512516\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T18:17:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T18:17:20","slug":"as-strip-stagnates-gazans-plan-first-large-anti-hamas-protest-since-ceasefire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/512516\/","title":{"rendered":"As Strip stagnates, Gazans plan first large anti-Hamas protest since ceasefire"},"content":{"rendered":"

On June 18, several dozen people gathered <\/a>outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, one of the Gaza Strip\u2019s largest medical centers, to protest what they said was the lack of adequate treatment for the many wounded left by the war between Israel and the Hamas terror group, which rules the Strip.<\/p>\n

In videos posted online, demonstrators were heard speaking out angrily against the powers that be, complaining of corruption and apathy, while carefully avoiding direct criticism of Hamas.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody cares, not even the Health Ministry,\u201d said one amputee. \u201cThey are all thieves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another protester complained of being blocked from seeking medical care abroad.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not allowed to leave and we will die here, while thieves with money forge medical reports and leave,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is not [Israel], this is the Health Ministry and the World Health Organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The demonstration marked a rare public display of criticism against the governing powers in Gaza, where the Hamas terror group continues to rule the areas where nearly all of the Strip\u2019s approximately two million residents live.<\/p>\n

On Friday, demonstrators say they will gather again for a much larger protest against dire conditions in the largely unrehabilitated enclave, an event that organizers say will be the first significant show of public dissatisfaction against Hamas in Gaza since the war with Israel halted in October.<\/p>\n

Since early June, anonymous social media accounts operating under the banner of the \u201cJune 26 Revolution\u201d and apparently organized by Palestinians in Gaza and abroad have been calling on Gazans to take to the streets, seeking to build grassroots momentum.<\/p>\n

The hospital protest was promoted by the same accounts, as a precursor to the Friday rally.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis protest is not supported by any country, nor by the army [the IDF] or any militia,\u201d said Hamza al-Huwaiti, a former Gazan who is backing the protests from abroad. \u201cThese are simply people who are dissatisfied with the current situation and want to change it.\u201d<\/p>\n

No specific time or location for the protest has been named, suggesting both wariness among organizers and hopes that sustained demonstrations will spread across the Strip.<\/p>\n

It is unclear whether the Friday protest will include more explicit calls against Hamas and whether crowds will indeed show up, particularly due to concerns of how Hamas may react to a show of mass dissent as it looks to reassert control.<\/p>\n

Protests against the group are uncommon in Gaza, where those speaking out are liable to be accused of collaborating with Israel and risk deadly retaliation. However, they are not unheard of.<\/p>\n

The last major demonstrations<\/a> began in March 2025, drawing hundreds to the streets in various locations every few days or weeks before the movement dissipated some two months later. At the time, Hamas downplayed the protests and described them as anti-war demonstrations.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tA Palestinian youth carries a banner that reads in Arabic \u2018Hamas does not represent us\u2019 during an anti-Hamas protest, calling an end to the war with Israel, in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip on March 26, 2025. (AFP)<\/p>\n

Testimonies from inside Gaza and accounts from organizers suggest that Hamas has already begun quietly attempting to thwart the planned demonstrations.<\/p>\n

A resident of central Gaza who spoke with The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity over fears for his safety said he plans to participate in the Friday protest, which he learned of through social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not something new. People protested against Hamas even before October 7,\u201d he said. \u201cBut today the situation is different. We are living through war, destruction and displacement. Many people want to go out and say: Enough war. People see how the land [the Gaza Strip] has been destroyed after years of war \u2014 there is no life and they want to see change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under a US-brokered 20-point plan to end the war which began with Hamas\u2019s October 7, 2023 attack, Hamas is to disarm and hand over power to a transitional authority, paving the way for an Israeli military pullback and the rebuilding of the enclave, which suffered extensive destruction during the fighting.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tPalestinians amid the rubble of a building that was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike, at al-Maghazi refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on June 12, 2026. (AP\/Abdel Kareem Hana)<\/p>\n

However, those plans have yet to move beyond the initial ceasefire stage due to Hamas\u2019s refusal to give up its weapons and other disagreements over implementation.<\/p>\n

Though badly battered, Hamas has maintained enough strength to exercise control over the part of the Strip that the IDF has pulled back from, cementing its hold by executing<\/a> opponents and others it views as threatening its rule, according to multiple reports.<\/p>\n

Organized from outside<\/p>\n

On June 8, a Facebook page<\/a> titled \u201cThe June 26 Revolution\u201d began operating and putting out calls for demonstrations, without defining any specific goals or naming who was behind the initiative.<\/p>\n

The page has since published posts documenting the severe hardships faced by Gazans, as well as videos featuring dozens of people described as Gaza residents, with speakers calling on Gazans to take to the streets in support of \u201ca life of dignity in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some criticize Hamas, including one person who demanded \u201ca government that will govern Gaza. Enough with the people who are there now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Times of Israel has learned that among the initiative\u2019s organizers are Gazans who previously participated in anti-Hamas protests and have since left the Strip, but are in contact with activists still inside the enclave.<\/p>\n

One such figure is Abdel Hamid Abdel Ati, a Gazan who left the Strip with his family for Cairo during the war.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tThe logo of the \u201cJune 26 Revolution\u201d movement, which is calling for a protest against Hamas in Gaza on that date. The \u201cJune 26 Revolution\u201d Facebook page.<\/p>\n

On the same day that the protest Facebook page was launched, Abdel Ati began sharing identical content calling for demonstrations on June 26 on his personal Facebook<\/a> page. His first such post went up two minutes before the first post appeared on the protest page.<\/p>\n

He has also pushed the protest to his 42,000 followers on TikTok.<\/p>\n

Abdel Ati is not a well-known figure in Palestinian society or within the Gaza Strip, but has used Facebook to criticize conditions in Gaza in the past.<\/p>\n

In a video<\/a> published on June 8 Abdel Ati also criticized Israel, saying: \u201cThe time has come for us to say our word, to take to the streets so that the entire situation changes and there will be a day of rage \u2014 over the tents, over the displacement, over the occupation [Israel], and over the world\u2019s silence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Al-Huwaiti, who participated in anti-Hamas protests in 2019 and left the Strip in the summer of 2023, said he views the protest as a means of pressuring Hamas and conveying the message that the current situation in Gaza cannot continue and does not serve the interests of the enclave\u2019s residents.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tPalestinians take part in an anti-Hamas protest, calling for an end to the war with Israel, in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, March 26, 2025. (Flash90)<\/p>\n

At the same time, he said, the protest is also directed against Israel\u2019s continued control over much of Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny solution must include an Israeli withdrawal and Hamas leaving the Strip \u2014 both politically and militarily. Otherwise, there will be no solution or reconstruction of the Gaza Strip,\u201d said al-Huwaiti, now a writer living in Germany who frequently comments on developments in Gaza on social media.<\/p>\n

The central Gaza protester who spoke anonymously said he hopes the protest will send a message to the world \u2014 including the Israeli government \u2014 that \u201cthe people of Gaza are not Hamas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fears may dampen turnout<\/p>\n

Al-Huwaiti told The Times of Israel that he does not believe Hamas will respond violently to demonstrators, as it largely refrained from doing during wartime protests. \u201cThat\u2019s the last thing they want the world to see \u2014 what they are doing to Gaza\u2019s residents,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Over nearly two decades of rule in Gaza, Hamas has successfully suppressed several waves of protests against its government, none of which significantly weakened the group or led it to alter its rule.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tDisplaced Palestinians are seen near their tents in Gaza City, June 1, 2026. (Ali Hassan\/Flash90)<\/p>\n

In 2017 and again in 2019, Hamas security forces used violence, arrests and intimidation to put down short-lived waves of protests initially driven by Gaza\u2019s dire economic conditions, but which ultimately evolved into demonstrations against the group.<\/p>\n

By contrast, during demonstrations held amid the current war, Hamas refrained from openly confronting protesters in the streets. This may have been an effort to avoid exposing its forces to Israeli attacks, or out of concern for its international standing at a time when global attention was focused on Gaza.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tPalestinians accused of collaboration with Israel are seen blindfolded moments before their execution by Hamas gunmen in a Gaza street, September 22, 2025. (Social media)<\/p>\n

Throughout the war, Hamas security bodies continued to operate behind the scenes to suppress dissent, including the Sahm Unit and the Radaa Force.<\/p>\n

A recent UN report<\/a> found that Hamas internal security bodies tasked with maintaining order and targeting individuals suspected of collaborating with Israel or threatening Hamas rule killed at least 60 civilians in Gaza during 2024 and 2025.<\/p>\n

Gazans inside and outside the Strip who spoke with The Times of Israel said that, for now, Hamas appears to be relying on quieter, less visible methods aimed at weakening the protest movement.<\/p>\n

According to a Gaza-based journalist who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear for his safety, Hamas has warned reporters not to cover the planned demonstration, in an apparent effort to deny it public attention.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tPalestinian gunmen from Hamas and Islamic Jihad gather next to Eid al-Fitr prayers in Gaza City, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo\/Abdel Kareem Hana, File)<\/p>\n

During the protest outside Nasser Hospital, the June 26 Revolution Facebook page posted footage<\/a> showing a journalist broadcasting from the roof of a nearby building but keeping his camera pointed elsewhere, ignoring the unusual scene below.<\/p>\n

The journalist also said that preachers in some mosques across the Strip used Friday sermons last week to discourage participation in demonstrations criticizing the authorities, describing such protests as religiously forbidden. While they did not explicitly mention the planned anti-Hamas protest, he said, \u201cthe message was clear.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnofficially, people who are preparing to go out [and protest] are being intimidated. I don\u2019t think it will be a strong demonstration,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Al-Huwaiti, who remains in contact with residents inside Gaza, told The Times of Israel that, to his knowledge, Hamas has recently issued covert threats against activists involved in the initiative who remain in the Strip, as well as against the families of activists living abroad whose relatives are still in Gaza.<\/p>\n

According to Al-Huwaiti, Hamas threatened the father of Abdel Ati in an effort to pressure organizers to halt the planned activities.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tPalestinians walk along a street surrounded by buildings destroyed by Israeli military strikes during the Israel-Hamas war in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo\/Abdel Kareem Hana)<\/p>\n

Hamas has not officially responded to the calls for demonstrations. However, on June 11, after the campaign for protests began circulating online, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem wrote on Facebook that \u201cthere are those who are quick to eulogize our great movement [Hamas], and they will be surprised to find a movement that is even more deeply rooted among its people and has an even greater presence\u201d \u2014 an apparent reference to what Hamas sees as its enduring public support, in contrast to the image projected by protest organizers.<\/p>\n

The Gaza-based journalist argued that conditions in the Strip, including occasional Israeli military operations, are themselves an obstacle to mobilizing people.<\/p>\n

Despite the ceasefire, Israeli strikes have continued in Gaza. The Hamas-run Health Ministry recently said that the number of Palestinians killed since the ceasefire came into effect in October 2025 had surpassed 1,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are exhausted. Every day there are strikes in the streets and markets,\u201d he said. \u201cI tell my children not to leave the house, and I only go out when it\u2019s necessary. People are afraid to go out into the streets.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On June 18, several dozen people gathered outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, one of the Gaza Strip\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":512517,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[191279,1297,69,51,85,46,77953,43,2200],"class_list":["post-512516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-2023-2025-israel-hamas-war","tag-gaza-protests","tag-gaza-strip","tag-hamas","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-khan-younis","tag-news","tag-palestinians"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=512516"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512516\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/512517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=512516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=512516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=512516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}