Palestinians protest to demand an end to war, chanting anti-Hamas slogans, in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, March 26, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stringer

Hamas has been persecuting Palestinians who participated in the recent wave of protests against the terrorist group in Gaza, executing six individuals and publicly beating others, according to local reports.

Earlier this month, anti-Hamas protests broke out across the war-torn enclave, with thousands of Palestinians demanding an end to the ongoing war with Israel and criticizing the terrorist group’s governance.

As Hamas seeks to reassert control and deter further dissent, several prominent demonstrators and social media influencers have gone missing, with local reports indicating some are being tortured and killed. Since last Friday, no new demonstrations have taken place.

Odai al-Rubai, a 22-year-old resident of Gaza City’s Tel al-Hawa neighborhood who had called for public demonstrations and criticized Hamas on social media, was among those killed.

According to local media, al-Rubai was abducted by the Palestinian terrorist group and returned to his family after being tortured for hours, as he was dying.

In a video statement, his family accused the killers of being “a sinful, rogue group affiliated with the Qassam Brigades,” the military wing of Hamas.

“They dragged him and tortured him to death with all kinds of hard tools,” the family said. “They killed him treacherously.”

On social media, Hamas loyalists have defended the group’s actions, accusing the demonstrators of treason.

The family of 22-year-old Odai Nasser Saadi Al-Rubai, who was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by Hamas militias, opened fire during his funeral and vowed to avenge his death.

Mourners turned the funeral into a protest against Hamas, chanting: “Hamas out, out!” pic.twitter.com/snKhFh6ZVH

— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) March 29, 2025

Hamza al-Masri, a Gaza-based social activist who has been tortured by Hamas in the past and is now exiled in Turkey, said the crackdown was part of a broader effort to silence dissent.

“Just for asking to live, a Hamas military unit kidnapped several young men, including the helpless Odai,” al-Masri wrote in a post on X. “Hours after he was taken, he was returned to his family without life.”

Al-Masri also denounced the lack of free press in Gaza, saying “the world has no idea what’s happening.”

“There isn’t a single journalist in Gaza who can speak about the crimes being committed here,” he said.

Last week, the terrorist group, which has governed Gaza since 2007, said the protests were against Israel rather than Hamas, accusing Jerusalem of inciting the demonstrations and warning of punishment for those involved.

Hamas has a history of violently attacking those it considers to be “collaborators” with Israel. Earlier this year, the terrorist group executed 11 people for allegedly doing so in what its aligned media termed a “punishment of bullets.”

After several days of protests with hundreds if not thousands of participants, it remains uncertain how many people have gone missing, as Hamas focuses its efforts on cracking down on the demonstrations and reasserting control over the enclave.

The protests have featured anti-Hamas slogans such as “Down with Hamas, we’ve had enough,” “For God’s sake, Hamas out,” “we want an end to the war,” and “Hamas terrorists.”

Hamas’s nightmare has begun in Gaza: thousands are protesting, chanting, “Down with Hamas, we’ve had enough, Hamas!”. pic.twitter.com/u2oYlpvDQH

— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) March 25, 2025

The Assembly of Southern Gaza clans released a statement against Hamas, saying, “Enough is enough — a popular uprising against injustice. No more playing with our lives, our children’s future, or disregarding our suffering. Gaza is not anyone’s hostage; Gaza will be liberated by the will of its people.”

Another statement, released by the clans of Shuja’iyya in northern Gaza, read, “We call on you to take to the streets in a popular march of anger rejecting the continuation of the war, and demanding the lifting of Hamas’s control over the Gaza Strip, so that life can return to its people and our ongoing suffering can come to an end.”

While Hamas is trying to silence dissent and crack down on the demonstrations, the group is also confronting Israel’s renewed operations as the Israeli military targets terror operatives in the territory.

On March 18, Israel resumed its military operations in Gaza to pressure Hamas into releasing the remaining Israeli hostages kidnapped by the terrorist group after the first phase of the ceasefire expired without an agreement to extend the truce.

During the first phase, which began on Jan. 19, fighting ceased for six weeks as Hamas released 33 Israeli hostages (25 alive and eight deceased) in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom had been serving long sentences in Israeli prisons for terrorist activities.

The second phase was meant to include a complete Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza and the release of the remaining hostages taken by Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists from Israel. However, negotiations faltered when Hamas rejected a US proposal to release additional hostages and extend the ceasefire while continuing to discuss a permanent resolution.