Militants warn against helping Israel with Gaza protests

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO (Reuters) - Palestinian militant groups threatened punishment on Thursday for "collaborators" furthering Israeli goals after the first substantial protests against the war in Gaza and Hamas' rule.

Hundreds of Palestinians have rallied in recent days in north and central Gaza, some chanting "Hamas out", in a rare show of opposition to the group whose October 2023 raid on Israel triggered a devastating offensive in the enclave.

More demonstrations, which have been applauded by Israel's government, were planned for later on Thursday.

A statement by the "Factions of the Resistance", an umbrella group including Hamas, threatened punishment for leaders of the "suspicious movement", which Palestinians took to mean the street marches.

"They persist in blaming the resistance and absolving the occupation, ignoring that the Zionist extermination machine operates nonstop," it said.

"Therefore, these suspicious individuals are as responsible as the occupation for the bloodshed of our people and will be treated accordingly."

Hamas officials have said people have the right to protest but rallies should not be exploited for political ends or to exempt Israel from blame for decades of occupation, conflict and displacement in Palestinian territories.

Some protesters reached by Reuters said they took to the streets to voice rejection of continued war, adding that they were exhausted and lacked basics like food and water.

"We are not against the resistance. We are against war. Enough wars, we are tired," a resident of Gaza City's Shejaia neighbourhood, which saw protests on Wednesday, told Reuters.

"You can't call people collaborators for speaking up against wars, for wanting to live without bombardment and hunger," he added via a chat app.

PROTESTS SPREAD

Videos on Wednesday, whose authenticity Reuters could not verify, showed protests in Shejaia in the north where the rallies began, but also in the central Gaza areas of Deir Al-Balah, indicating the protests were spreading.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has promised Hamas' total elimination, said the rallies showed its decision to renew the military offensive in Gaza after a ceasefire was working.

Hamas police, the group's enforcers, are again off the streets.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz urged Gaza residents to keep expressing their discontent.

"Learn from the residents of Beit Lahia," he wrote on X, referring to the first protest. "Just as they did, demand the removal of Hamas from Gaza and the immediate release of all Israeli hostages — this is the only way to stop the war."

A Palestinian official with a Hamas-allied militant group said protests were allowed - but not cooperation with Israel.

"Those suspicious figures try to exploit legitimate protests to demand an end to the resistance, which is the same goal as Israel's," he told Reuters via a chat app.

"We don't threaten our people, we adore their sacrifices, but there are some suspicious figures who cooperate with the goals of the occupation, they want to exempt the occupation of responsibility and disgrace the resistance."

More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli campaign in Gaza, Palestinian officials say.

It was launched after thousands of Hamas-led gunmen attacked communities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 as hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Much of the narrow coastal enclave has been reduced to rubble, leaving hundreds of thousands of people sheltering in tents or bombed-out buildings.

(Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)