Videos from Gaza appear to show anti-Hamas protests in Rafah

Videos released on the anti-Hamas Telegram channel, “Gaza’s Liberators,” appear to show protests against the terror group and its leadership in recent days.

According to the channel, the videos were filmed in the northern Gaza town of Jabaliya and the southern town of Rafah, along the Egyptian border.

In the video from Jabaliya, people can be heard shouting, "Ya Sinwar, ya Haniya - the people are the victims. Hamas will be overthrown! Hamas will be overthrown!"

The chants are directed at Hamas military leader Yahya Sinwar and political leader Ismail Haniyeh. While the protests do not involve large crowds, they indicate that Gazan citizens may be feeling more freedom to express their discontent and opposition to Hamas

When Hamas was in control of the Gaza Strip before the Oct. 7 war began, such protests were brutally suppressed, often by shooting into the crowds.

At the protest in Rafah, reportedly the last Hamas stronghold in the Gaza Strip, a small group of people could be heard chanting against another Hamas leader, Osama Hamdan.

“Hear, hear, Hamdan, come out of Lebanon!” the crowd chants.

Another chant, which rhymes in Arabic, was “Listen, listen Haniyeh, come back home from Turkey, listen listen Hamdan, come back home from Lebanon.”

Except for Yahya Sinwar, his brother Mohammed Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, most of Hamas’ top leaders reportedly live outside Gaza in Qatar, Turkey and Lebanon.

Another video showed Gazans protesting over the lack of food. Hamas has been accused by residents and by Israel of stealing humanitarian aid delivered into the Gaza Strip and redirecting it to their fighters.

"We need food, we need flour, Sinwar and Haniyeh, stay away from us, you thieves," the people could be heard shouting.

IDF’s Arabic language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, shared three of the videos on the IDF’s Arabic channel on 𝕏 with the following statement: “The people of Gaza know the cause of the tragedy in the Strip and the consequences of the flood of devastation and terror generated by Sinwar and his clique.”

يا سنوار قول لهنية الشعب هو الضحية
ارحل ارحل يا سنوار
اسمع اسمع يا هنية ..ياللا روح من تركيا
اسمع اسمع يا حمدان .. ياللا روح من لبنان

فيديوهات متداولة من جباليا ومن رفح لمظاهرات ضد قيادات حماس

سكان غزة يعرفون سبب المأساة في قطاع غزة ونتائج طوفان الخراب والإرهاب من انتاج… pic.twitter.com/8YjtB0BDZD

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) February 21, 2024

While there have been a few protests against Hamas since the start of the Israeli ground campaign, the increase in protest activity could be a sign of Hamas’ weakening control in the Gaza Strip.

According to the “Gaza’s Liberators” channel, Hamas security forces arrived sometime after the protests started and began firing at the crowds. It was also reported that one person was killed and three wounded in the Jabaliya protest.

The IDF is expected to begin its incursion into Rafah in the coming weeks, as hostage release negotiations appear to be stalled.