Gazans Resume Protests Against Israel As Hamas Faces Rare Internal Backlash

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday night resumed violent demonstrations along the border with Israel, after Hamas had halted them in the wake of last week’s serious flare-up. On Thursday, two rockets were inadvertently fired from Gaza towards Tel Aviv, to which the Israeli army responded by striking 100 terror targets in the enclave. The next day, Hamas for the first time canceled the weekly “March of Return” protests, which for nearly a year have invariably descended into clashes between thousands of Gazans and Israeli security forces. While both sides have expressed a desire to avoid an escalation, Egyptian, Qatari and United Nations mediators for months have been unable to formalize a long-term cease-fire. Israel and Hamas were on the brink of war in November, after the terrorist group launched some 500 rockets at the Jewish state in a 24-hour period. Notably, the resumption of rioting along the security fence comes amid the largest public protests against Hamas’ rule in recent times. Rights groups have condemned the terror organization for using excessive force to suppress of the demonstrations.