In a rare and dangerous public show of anger against Hamas, hundreds of Palestinians marched through Beit Lahia this week in northern Gaza, demanding that the militant group be left to control over the territory and end the war with Israel, according to four witnesses.

On Wednesday, the march seemed to be the latest of a few such protests that broke out in the last two weeks, despite Hamas’ efforts to suppress the disagreement of threats and emissions of force. Witnesses said it was the first of the protests in Beit Lahia, and some joined and some brought their children.

Taken together, demonstrationsWhile he was small and scattered, they represent the most serious challenge to Hamas’s 18-year-old Gaza rule, since the war when Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023. The too much of the Israeli response that followed separated the territory and ResidentsKilling tens of thousands. He continued his bloodstream after Israel completed a two -month termination agreement In mid -March, quoting Hamas’s rejection to accept Israeli demands.

The Palestinians started marching about a week later in Beit Lahia, an agricultural community in the northernmost part of Gaza, and then in other parts of the enclave. The protests lasted three days before they appeared to fade.

The activists posted on social networks this week, inviting new gatherings. The demonstrators gathered in Beit Lahia’s main square and marched toward another square, protesters said in interviews. They gave different assessments of the size of the set, from about 1,000 to 1,500.

“We have lost our homes, our loved ones, hope and future. Enough is enough,” said Abeer Al-Radee, 34, a housewife who said she went to her husband and children on a demonstration on Wednesday. “We invite Hamas to stop it and leave us. We do not know when it will end, but we want peace and democracy.”

The march moved forward despite a wide fear in Gaza of Hamas, who in the past violently pierced the challenges of his reign. After the recent protests, however, Hamas’ response appeared muffled, reflecting what analysts said that both fear of further inflammation But a furious population and its reduced ability to mobilize forces, with thousands of its members killed by Israeli drones and war aircraft.

But the threat by Hamas remains.

On Friday, one of the protesters, the 22-year-old Say al-Rabi, was overnight by Hamas Openers from a shelter for displaced people in the city of Gaza, his brother Hassan said.

Hassan, 32, said he had received a call for hours later to pick up his brother from Al-Quds Hospital in Gazi. He said the show was bruised, bloody and barely walking or talking.

“The body of the whole brother was blood,” he said, adding that Hamas’s operatives pulled him on the occasion. “It was like I didn’t know him.”

Operatives said that anyone who “cursed” Hamas’s military wing will meet the same fate, Hassan said. He took his brother to a second nearby hospital, but Saya died a few hours later.

Hassan said he believed his brother aimed at both participating in protests and his history of criticizing Hamas. About a month ago, Saya was attacked by a group of Hamas members, but they fled when he pulled the knife on them, Hassan said.

Hamas’ officials and a spokesman for the Hamas Government in Gaza did not respond to the commentary requests.

The protesters on Wednesday included Raed al-Masri, 44, who said the masked members of the Hamas were stationed at some parts, holding Troncheons and sticks.

Two days after the previous protest, HAMAS’s internal security forces in Gaza were invited by Sharif al-Buheisi (56) to the tent at the Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Central Gaza. Mr. Al-Buheisi is an activist in Fatah, Hamas’s rival political faction, and before the war he served as an administrator at Al-Azhar University in Gazi.

Two officers brought a threat, suggesting that he would regret participating in future protests, Mr. Al-Buheisi said in a telephone conversation.

“This is not the time for protests-it stings resistance to the back,” Mr. Al-Buheisi recalled. “If you come out again, the result will not be good.”

After consulting his family, Mr. Al-Buheisi said he decided to keep himself away from further protests. It was a bitter reminder, he said civilians in Gaza were trapped.

“Both sides are persecuted,” he said. “Israel is bombarding us without mercy and Hamas doesn’t care if we will die.”

Mr. Al-Masri said several of his relatives also received Hamas’s threats after the recent marches. One received a phone call from a private number, inviting him to meet on Tuesday with the Hamas officers who questioned him for his involvement, asked about supporters and organizers of protest and forced him to sign a document in which he said he would stop protesting, said Mr. Al-Masri.

Others neglected such calls.

On a protest on Wednesday, many demonstrators took the hunger on March to the march, the participants said. Israel has Blocked help From entering Gaza for a month, forcing Closing bakersMarkets for empty and help groups to reduce food distribution. Gaza residents say that it remains what it produces is excessively expensive.

One child shouted at a demonstration on Wednesday that she wanted to eat something, Mrs. Al-Radee said. The second protester held a piece of onions, shouting that he ate only onions and radishes for more than a week, said Basem Hamoud, 47, a farmer who was there.

For their despair, the protesters blamed Israel – but also Hamas.

“Those who cannot provide their people with bread have no right to start a war on behalf of liberation,” said Mr. Hamoud.

He and others said Hamas should do a better job of keeping food prices, stopping traders to keep supplies, which is a common complaint in Gaza.

“Hamas gave Israel an excuse to continue this war until he was able to regulate and control market prices,” he added. “It’s a real cause behind these protests.”

Amer Haroud Contributing reporting from Doha, Qatar.