Thousands of Palestinians demonstrated against Hamas in northern Gaza on Tuesday, in what appeared to be the largest protest against the militant group since its attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
A message shared on social media appeared to call for nine anti-Hamas demonstrations across Gaza on Wednesday, with the protest organizers saying, “our voices must reach all the spies who sold our blood.”
“Let them hear your voice, let them know that Gaza is not silent, and that there is a people who will not accept to be eradicated,” the message continued.
The protests come after the death toll in Gaza surpassed 50,000 on Sunday, according to the health ministry in the enclave, with no end in sight.
The territory, home to 2.1 million Palestinians, fell under the militant group’s control in 2007 after a 2006 election and brief civil war with Fatah, a rival Palestinian faction that is the backbone of the Palestinian Authority.
Northern Gaza has been hit hard by the military offensive Israel launched in response to the October 7 attacks. Seventeen months of war have reduced much of the enclave to rubble, making it impossible for aid agencies to reach the battered north.
The crisis in the enclave, which relies almost exclusively on humanitarian aid, was compounded when Israel said it was halting all aid from entering Gaza at the start of March, following the breakdown of talks to extend a ceasefire.
Israel has often accused Hamas of stealing humanitarian aid delivered to the enclave to “rebuild its war machine,” something the militant group denies.
The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said Sunday that no food, water, medicines, or fuel had entered Gaza in three weeks, marking a longer siege than what was in place in the first phase of the war.
“Every day without food inches Gaza closer to an acute hunger crisis,” UNRWA said in a social media post on Sunday.