Hundreds in Gaza protest against Hamas – DW – 03/26/2025

Germany’s Jewish Central Council criticized the German government for a lack of engagement in the plight of Israeli hostages.

Council president Josef Schuster told German newspaper Tagesspiegel that he was disappointed with the government’s public stance on the issues of the hostages, accusing Berlin of “keeping a low profile” so as not to “alienate supposed negotiating partners.”

“Calls for the release of the hostages were usually accompanied by admonishing words to Israel; what indifference!” Schuster said.

He criticized a “yawning silence” at the funeral of Shiri Bibas and her two children, whom he pointed out were German citizens and whose fate “has torn all our hearts apart.”

Schuster called it “a low point in German foreign policy.”

Hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza expressed outrage in rare anti-Hamas protests for a second consecutive day. AFP news agency reported that according to witnesses, protesters have called for an end to the war with Israel.

The rare public outburst against Hamas began on Tuesday in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, where some 3,000 people gathered, with many chanting “the people want the fall of Hamas,” AP news agency reported.

Northern Gaza has been hit particularly hard during the war, with most of its infrastructure reduced to rubble and with scores displaced.

In the hard-hit Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza City, dozens of men chanted “Out, out out! Hamas get out!” according to AP reporting.

In Gaza City protesters were seen holding banners reading “Hamas does not represent us.”

The rare show of dissent towards the militant group comes more than a week after the Israeli army resumed its bombing campaign following nearly two months of a truce.

Today, DW is focusing on rare protests against Hamas taking place in northern Gaza. 

Northern Gaza has been one of the most devastated areas of the territory, with most of the infrastructure in the densely populated area having been reduced to rubble. Much of the population has been displaced. Social media videos showed people chanting “Hamas out.”

Meanwhile, Germany’s Jewish Central Council criticized the German government for how it is handling the hostage crisis in Gaza. The Council’s chief Josef Schuster said he was “disappointed” with what he sees as Germany’s lack of “public commitment to the fate of the Hamas hostages.”