Hamas threatens protesters, as new mass rallies against terror group held in Gaza
Videos show crowds shouting ‘Hamas out!’ and ‘Enough death,’ as well-known family posts on social media that they killed Hamas police officer after relative was shot dead
A Gaza family’s open admission this week that they killed an officer from the Hamas-run police force after they said a relative had been shot dead added to signs of popular dissent against the Palestinian terror group after 18 months of war with Israel.
It drew a warning from the Hamas-run interior ministry that actions that undermined public order would not be tolerated.
But following protests against Hamas by hundreds of demonstrators in northern Gaza last month, the incident underscored the increasing willingness of some Gaza civilians to voice criticism or act against Hamas, which has run the Palestinian enclave since overthrowing the rival Fatah faction in 2007.
On Wednesday, hundreds of Palestinians also rallied in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, chanting “Hamas out” and “Enough death,” in renewed protests against the terror group.
Residents were angered by new Israeli military evacuation orders, which the military said followed rocket salvos by terror groups from the area.
They may have been emboldened to take to the streets by a sharply reduced presence of Hamas police and security forces in the past weeks since Israel’s large-scale attacks resumed.
למרות המקרים של הוצאה להורג של מפגינים בידי חמאס – בהפגנה בבית לאהיא: נשמעות קריאות "חמאס החוצה, החוצה" pic.twitter.com/CFbP2A0KXT
— ספיר ליפקין | Sapir Lipkin | سابير ليبكين (@sapirlipkin) April 2, 2025
The pockets of anti-Hamas sentiment were highlighted by the video of the street killing of the police officer going viral on social media. It showed him being shot in the head and then sprayed with bullets from an assault rifle, as other men urged on the family members.
The family, well known in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, issued a statement on social media, which was shared by several relatives, saying they had killed the officer, without identifying who had pulled the trigger, but also said it had not been a planned action.
They said one of the family had been killed by a police officer as police tried to resolve a feud outside a flour storage site — denying that he had been caught by shrapnel.
“We will not allow any party to spread chaos in the Gaza Strip or take the law into their hands,” Hamas said in a statement, adding that it had begun measures to bring those involved to justice.
In a separate statement, Hamas said the killing of the officer was a crime that only “serves Zionist goals in breaking the internal Palestinian front and spreads chaos and anarchy.”
New massive anti-Hamas demonstrations in northern Gaza are demanding an end to the war that the terror group started. They want Hamas to step down and "get out" – Men, women, the elderly, children, and wounded folks came out, desperate to make their voices heard! pic.twitter.com/pqWZJixeym
— Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib (@afalkhatib) April 2, 2025
In a different incident, in Gaza City, another family accused Hamas police of killing a relative and vowed vengeance.
“The blood of our son will not be in vain,” the family said in a statement.
There was no immediate comment by the Hamas-run police about that incident.
The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists invaded southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.
Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are still holding 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive.
Israel restarted intense bombing of Gaza on March 18 and then launched a new ground offensive, ending a nearly two-month ceasefire, during which the terror group released 30 hostages and Israel released almost 2,000 security prisoners and detainees.
Jacob Magid contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.