Anti-Hamas protests spread in rare show of anger in Gaza

Thousands of Palestinians marched between the wreckage of a heavily destroyed town in northern Gaza during anti-war protests, with many chanting against Hamas in a rare display of public anger against the militant group.

Meanwhile, Hamas said an Israeli air strike killed one of its official spokesmen in Gaza yesterday, the latest high-ranking operative targeted since Israel resumed its bombardment. Spokesman Abdul Latif al-Qanou was killed in what the group called a "direct" strike on a tent he was in, in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza.

The protests, which centered mainly on Gaza's north, appeared to be aimed generally against the war, with protesters calling for an end to 17 months of deadly fighting with Israel that has made life in Gaza insufferable.

But protesters also leveled unusually direct and public criticism of Hamas, which has quashed dissent violently in the past in Gaza, a territory it still rules months into the war with Israel.

In the town of Beit Lahiya, where a similar protest took place on Tuesday, about 3,000 people demonstrated, with many chanting "the people want the fall of Hamas." In the hard-hit Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza City, dozens of men chanted "Out, out out! Hamas get out!"

Ammar Hassan, who took part in a protest, said it started as an anti-war protest with a few dozen people but swelled to more than 2,000, with people chanting against Hamas.

"It's the only party we can affect. Protests won't stop the (Israeli) occupation, but it can affect Hamas," he said.

"Our children have been killed. Our houses have been destroyed," said Abed Radwan, who said he joined the protest in Beit Lahiya "against the war, against Hamas, and the (Palestinian political) factions, against Israel and against the world's silence."

The militant group has violently cracked down on previous protests. This time no outright intervention was immediately apparent, perhaps because Hamas is keeping a lower profile since Israel resumed its war against it.

The protests erupted a week after Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas by launching a surprise wave of strikes that killed hundreds of people. Earlier this month, Israel halted deliveries of food, fuel, medicine and humanitarian aid to Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians.

Associated Press, Agence France-Presse