Growing Anti-Hamas Movement in Khan Yunis and Southern Gaza

Last April, I wrote about the nascent anti-Hamas movement in Khan Yunis and elsewhere in Southern Gaza.

At that time, a few hundred brave souls — "the bravest protesters in the world," I called them — marched despite threats from Hamas.

NOW IN GAZA: Palestinians are protesting against Hamas and demanding:

“Free the Israeli hostages. End the war. No to Hamas". “Yes to peace!”

Do you believe their sentiments are genuine? pic.twitter.com/6PBlpN79xn

— Leslie Young ✡︎ (@AkaLazarus) March 26, 2025

Those few hundred protesters now number in the thousands and are courageously demanding that Hamas stop the war and leave Gaza.

🚨BREAKING: Massive anti-Hamas protests have erupted—this time in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza. Protesters chanting, “Hamas out, out!”

DOWN WITH HAMAS! pic.twitter.com/VA4lxDI8iP

— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) May 19, 2025

Skepticism is warranted. After all, some of these Gazans were in the streets celebrating the death of Jews after October 7. 

However, not to allow for the populace to turn against Hamas due to war weariness or frustration at Hamas' obstinacy during peace talks, not to mention the daily suffering and death, and the lack of food and medical care, is illogical. The people of Gaza have been driven past the point where their fanaticism and hatred of the Jews can sustain them in a war they are obviously losing.

That skepticism makes it hard to feel sympathy for Gazans.

Let’s see them burn tires.

Let’s see them throw rocks and fire slingshots.

Let’s see the “journalists” covering it all…. 🤣

Or, maybe they can lead the IDF to where the tunnel entrances are, or maybe free a hostage or two from their “civilian” home prisons?

— Shmuel - שמואל (@levine45cal) May 20, 2025

“This is a clear rejection by the public of Hamas’ both government and armed group existence in Gaza,” Khalil Sayegh, a Gazan Christian activist, told The Daily Wire.

“For 18 years, Hamas has suppressed any dissent and used the pretext of ‘resistance’ to justify its authoritarian crackdown,” Sayegh continued. “Nonetheless, after 18 years of destruction, the people can tell that ‘resistance’ is only leading to more destruction while Hamas remains indifferent to their pain.”

To be clear, the Gazans aren't changing sides. Also, at least some of those protests could have been organized by Hamas's political rivals, Fatah. But there have been reports of protest organizers from the March demonstrations being kidnapped and their bodies found days later, brutally tortured.

The family of 22-year-old Odai Nasser Saadi Al-Rubai, who was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by Hamas militias, opened fire during his funeral and vowed to avenge his death.

Mourners turned the funeral into a protest against Hamas, chanting: "Hamas out, out!" pic.twitter.com/snKhFh6ZVH

— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) March 29, 2025

Daily Wire:

The protests come after the IDF issued an evacuation order for Gazans in Khan Younis, Bani Suheila, and the Abasan suburbs to move towards the coast. The order is the first evacuation order in Israel’s new “Operation Gideon’s Chariots” offensive. 

Since Friday, hundreds of Hamas targets have been struck, including anti-tank missile launch posts, weapons storage facilities, booby-trapped structures, tunnels, and more, according to the Israeli Defense Forces. 

Similar protests have been taking place in Gaza sporadically since March, with Gazans taking to the streets to call for the remaining Israeli hostages to be released and for Hamas to end its rule.

There is also a sense of hopelessness driving the protests. Musa, a 25-year-old Palestinian from Khan Yunis, notes that in the Arab world, Gazans are praised for their steadfastness in the face of Israel's relentless bombing. 

However, the Gazans don't feel very "steadfast" nor see themselves as particularly brave.

"Many have reached the point of envying the dead, believing that in death, at least, there is rest," says Musa. "Ten-year-old children now know how to prepare their father's body for burial. These are not people persevering with steadfastness. They are besieged, slaughtered, and forgotten."

"We're not legends or heroes. We don't want to be resilient. This isn't resilience. This is torment, misery and complete exhaustion," Musa added.

Above all, that's what's driving the anti-Hamas protests, and it will eventually make the difference in ending the war.

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