Gazan social media activists opposing Hamas are calling for a “Day of Rage” on Friday—mass protests against the terror organization across the Strip, dubbing their movement the “June 26 Revolution.” The demonstrations are fueled by residents’ anger at Hamas over harsh living conditions in refugee tent camps and the group’s inability to improve Gazans’ quality of life.
1+Yesterday we aired an extensive report on the issue in the channel’s main newscast, interviewing one of the protest organizers. To learn more about the nature of the organizing effort, we reached out to Hossam al-Astal, an activist with an anti-Hamas militia from Khan Younis known to have received assistance from Israel.
Al-Astal says the anti-Hamas militias in the Strip aren’t connected to the protests but hope they succeed. “We hope people will take to the streets, but I’ll tell you honestly—Hamas is trying to sabotage this thing. Hamas is creating problems for people and claiming the IDF is targeting protesters. Hamas claims the protest organizers live inside the Yellow Line,” he said.
1+According to al-Astal, Hamas is running a fear campaign against the planned protest: “Hamas is trying to create chaos so people won’t come out to demonstrate, and to create the impression that the people who’ll participate in the protests are bad people.”
After months of quiet complaints and anger on social media, tomorrow will reveal whether the protest against Hamas stays behind the keyboard or takes to the streets.