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Inside the Largest Anti-Hamas Protests in Gaza’s Recent History: In partnership with the Center for Peace Communications (CPC), The Free Press has obtained exclusive footage from inside Gaza, offering a rare, unfiltered view of this historic moment.

• “The people want to bring down Hamas.” Exclusive footage from across the Gaza Strip, now engulfed in historic demonstrations.
• For the third straight day, Palestinians are pouring into the streets across the Gaza Strip, openly defying the militant group they blame for the devastating 17-month-long war with Israel.
• Over the course of its rule, Hamas has not tolerated dissent, and has been known to execute political opponents. Protests in the past have been met with beatings, arrests, and gunfire.
• But now, from Beit Lahia and Jabalia in the north to Deir al-Balah and Nuseirat in the center, and even in the Hamas stronghold of Khan Younis, thousands are participating.

Antisemitism

[MUST READ] When Charities Betray America: How “Pro-Palestinian” Protest Groups Promote Anti-Americanism: Data analysis warns of escalating terrorism threat by Ryan Mauro with the Capital Research Center

• An analysis of thousands of social media posts by 496 of the most active “pro-Palestinian” groups and activists, many of them connected to “charities” and nonprofits, found a 3,000 percent surge in calls for violence and a 186 percent increase in the use of anti-American and anti-police keywords and phrases since the Hamas-led terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023.
• The broadening of the “pro-Palestinian” movement’s agenda to include siding with Western adversaries in conflicts around the world and advocating for defunding the police indicates the movement has become a permanent presence. It will not fade when issues surrounding Israelis and Palestinians lose prominence.
• Instead, it will attempt to preserve and expand its infrastructure by exploiting popular causes and inserting anti-Americanism, hatred of Israel, anti-Semitism, anti-Westernism, and anti-police bigotry into those causes’ narratives.
• Key Findings
  • During the 15 months following the Hamas-led terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023, the “pro-Palestinian” movement’s use of hateful anti-American and anti-police keywords and phrases rose by 186 percent in comparison to the 15-month period preceding the attacks.

    

  • The “pro-Palestinian” movement’s hateful anti-American and anti-police posts following October 7 had over 23 million views on X and TikTok and 4.2 million engagements in the form of comments, likes, and shares on those platforms.
  • A comparative examination of the keywords (image below) used after the attacks shows particularly sharp rises in the appearances of “AmeriKKKa” (+3,400 percent), “bring the war home” (+3,000 percent), “belly of the beast” (+1,154 percent) and “pigs” in the context of dehumanizing police officers (+1,088 percent).

    

  • The “pro-Palestinian” movement’s anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli tropes largely depict Israel as an appendage of a villainized United States.
  • A mainstream belief of the “pro-Palestinian” movement is that the United States shares Israel’s illegitimacy because it is a “settler-colonial” state with no right to exist.
  • The movement makes a concerted effort to equate American law enforcement with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) or “occupation forces…”
  • Of the groups, nearly half (35), were college chapters of national organizations, which means they receive recognition and likely student fees from private charitable colleges or government-chartered colleges. Two of the groups legally operate as 501(c)(4) “social welfare” nonprofits, 15 groups have an unknown legal status, and the remaining 26 groups are operating as 501(c)(3) “charities,” either as independent nonprofits or as a project of a sponsoring charity.
• Chronological Analysis: Three Anti-American Spikes in 2024

  

  • The first spike occurred in spring 2024, when Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) announced its Popular University for Gaza campaign that resulted in the assembling of encampments on campuses across the country.
  • A second spike was detected on the first anniversary of the October 7 attacks and the heightened level of extremism was sustained up to and including October 17, 2024.
  • A third spike occurred during the last week of November 2024, coinciding with two events: the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People and the Thanksgiving holiday.
• This data collection and analysis indicate that the “pro-Palestinian” movement’s most significant organizations and activists would be more properly described as anti-American or anti-Western and, increasingly, anti-police and pro-violence. In fact, it is common to see components of the movement and participants in its online chats refer to themselves as “seditionists,” “insurgents,” or “guerrillas.”
• The so-called pro-Palestinian movement, as represented by the approximately 500 top organizations and activists included in this examination, must be seen as pursuing a broader, more hostile ideology that incites instability, national security threats, economic sabotage, and hateful thinking and behavior that threatens the health of our civil society.
• Link to Full Report: When Charities Betray America: How “Pro-Palestinian” Protest Groups Promote Anti-Americanism

Israel/Middle East Related Articles

[MUST READ] The Anti-Hamas Protests in Gaza by Seth Mandel in Commentary Magazine

• Yesterday, a 32-year-old Palestinian named Ibrahim went food shopping in downtown Beit Lahiya, in northern Gaza and happened upon a remarkable scene: Hundreds of Gazans were marching in protest against Hamas. So he joined them. The protesters’ message to Hamas was simple: Get out of Gaza and don’t come back.
• Hard as it may be to believe, it’s true: Gazans have not been fully honest in public. There’s a reason for that. To take just one example, Amin Abed was nearly beaten to death with hammers for criticizing Hamas. Abed was saved by bystanders… During the cease-fire, Hamas members bragged about executing “collaborators” and filmed themselves shooting civilians.
• To protest Hamas in public is to take one’s life in one’s hands. That is especially true because the protests were bound to be filmed… The reason the world needs to hear that message is that Westerners have been Hamas’s willing propaganda tools. The protests on campus are not “pro-Palestinian,” they are pro-Hamas—and the people of Gaza are Hamas’s victims. Which means the anti-Zionist protest movement around the world objectively sides against the victims and civilians in Gaza.
• In reality, Gazans know Hamas builds entrances to terror tunnels in civilian homes because it has been done in their homes. It is not the IDF that hides bombs in stuffed animals in Palestinian children’s bedrooms along with a camera to know when to detonate that terror teddy. Gazans know their homes would still be standing if it weren’t for Hamas; it’s really that simple.
• Which is why Gazans are saying the exact same thing the Israeli government and the U.S. government have been saying… “Without Hamas going away, the next war will only be a matter of time.” Left unsaid is the key point: Even Gazans know that it isn’t Israel’s desire for war but Hamas’s. If Palestinians in Gaza don’t fall for the moral equivalence between Hamas and Israel, what excuse do Americans have?
• The answer is none. No one, anywhere, has any excuse to even attempt to equate Hamas and Israel. And the instant that a Palestinian in Gaza has the slightest opening to be honest, they say so plainly. Israel’s existence does not necessitate war; Hamas’s does.
• There were also complaints about al Jazeera, the Qatari propaganda station, at the protests. Qatar sponsors Hamas and dresses terrorists in press vests and makes it nearly impossible to distinguish Hamas from anyone else. Gazans don’t appreciate that, and they don’t appreciate the lies spread around the world from al Jazeera’s platform.
• Anyone who claims to bemoan the tragic condition of Gaza yet supports Hamas’s continue existence is contributing to, and compounding, Palestinian misery in the Gaza Strip.
• Link: The Anti-Hamas Protests in Gaza

Trump Wants a Calm Middle East by Walter Russell Mead with Wall Street Journal

• Military conflicts and political unrest are simultaneously on the boil across the region. The Trump administration is sending a second carrier strike group to the region as the U.S. confrontation with the Houthis intensifies. Iran, staggered by its catastrophic and humiliating losses to Israel, hesitates between the alternatives of nuclear breakout and negotiated settlement with its foes.
• With so much going on, it’s more vital than ever to distinguish between the deep trends bringing lasting change to the region and the dramatic but ultimately less important events that often dominate the headlines.
• With Iran, Russia and Egypt all less influential than before, and Turkey still in the early stages of building up its Middle East presence, power in the region has passed to Persian Gulf states as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates pursue rival visions and jostle for influence.
• Meanwhile, Israel is emerging from its war with Iran and its proxies more powerful and less isolated than before, but its core problems, both internal and external, remain unresolved. Not since the aftermath of the Israeli War of Independence have the Palestinians been this weak or this divided.
• The Israeli-Palestinian conflict appears to be entering a new stage. Both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have come to the end of the road. Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel was the greatest strategic blunder by Palestinian leaders since the rejection of the United Nations partition resolution in 1947.
• It isn’t only Hamas and the civilians under its rule who have suffered. The war has exposed the haplessness of the Palestinian Authority. Unable to resist Israel or negotiate with it, the authority has been essentially irrelevant during the greatest crisis for the Palestinian movement in nearly 80 years.
• There will be territorial as well as political consequences from this defeat. Israel will likely force losses of Palestinian territory in Gaza as it expands its security perimeter. If enough West Bank Palestinians listen to the siren call of terrorism and revenge, there could be Israeli annexations in the West Bank as well.
• Everyone wants American support; all fear the consequences if the American president sides with their rivals… The countries who offer him the most stability at the lowest cost are the ones most likely to enjoy his support.
• Link: Trump Wants a Calm Middle East

The Qatari Challenge: Strategic Dilemmas and Policy Options for Israel by Yoel Guzansky with The Institute for National Security Studies (INSS)

• Even after the outbreak of the “Iron Swords War,” and despite criticism by elected public officials of Qatar’s support for Hamas, Doha and Jerusalem have continued working-level relations. Intelligence agencies from both sides cooperate, senior officials hold meetings, Israelis visit the emirate, and limited economic and commercial cooperation exists. Furthermore, Qatar is not officially designated as an enemy state by Israel, although the latter has issued warnings advising Israeli citizens against traveling there.
• On one hand, it strongly criticizes Israeli policies on the Palestinian issue… On the other hand, Qatar serves as a key mediator between Israel and Hamas and actively participates in the humanitarian aid mechanism for Gaza. This dual policy allows Qatar to sustain its position as a central regional player, balancing support for the Palestinians with its pragmatic ties with Israel.
• For Qatar, the Palestinian issue serves as a tool for demonstrating its regional influence. It leverages its support for the Palestinians—and Hamas in particular—to strengthen its standing both in the Arab world and beyond. Officially, Qatar maintains that it will not establish full diplomatic relations with Israel unless an Israeli-Palestinian agreement leads to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
• Qatar’s support for Hamas and its investments in Gaza align closely with its broader foreign policy strategy, which has long included backing political Islamist movements. However, rather than being driven purely by ideological affinity, Qatar’s foreign policy is characterized more often by pragmatism—and at times opportunism—than by deep ideological commitment.
• A critical element of Qatar’s international standing—and therefore a key factor in Israel’s broader strategy regarding Qatar and its support for Hamas—is its complex and strategic relationship with the United States. Qatar has leveraged its diplomatic maneuvering and dominance in the global energy market to strengthen ties with major international players, particularly the U.S. administration… Despite its small military, Qatar is the third-largest arms purchaser in the world (2020–2024)… and the host of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) at the Al Udeid Air Base—the largest U.S. military base outside the United States.
• Qatar’s primary objective regarding the Israel-Hamas war is to facilitate its conclusion while ensuring Hamas remains a significant player in Gaza. Such an outcome would allow Qatar to maintain its central role in Gaza, reinforcing its regional influence and enhance its standing on the international stage, particularly with the United States.
• Unlike other regional actors, Qatar is willing to provide generous humanitarian aid to Gaza without conditions or restrictions, a stance that may appeal to the U.S. administration.
• A highly aggressive approach against Qatar at this stage could harm efforts to secure the release of all hostages. Qatar enjoys a strong international standing, making it unlikely that Israel could successfully isolate it on its own—especially given that past attempts by an Arab coalition to marginalize it failed.
• Link: The Qatari Challenge: Strategic Dilemmas and Policy Options for Israel

No Difference Between Hamas ‘Politicians’ And Terrorists with Khaled Abu Toameh in Gatestone Institute

• US President Donald Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said last week that he does not rule out the possibility that the Iran-backed Palestinian terror group Hamas could be politically active in the Gaza Strip after it disarms. … Witkoff appears to draw a distinction between Hamas’s political and military leaderships. He also seems naïve enough to believe that Hamas would ever agree to lay down its weapons…
• There is no difference between a Hamas political leader and a military commander. They all share the same extremist ideology, which does not recognize Israel’s right to exist and calls for destroying it through jihad… They all belong to the same school of the Muslim Brotherhood organization. Hamas is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood…
• When the covenant was published in 1988, Hamas had not yet established its military wing… The group’s politicians devise the strategy and set the goals, while its armed wing is entrusted with following them. The political leadership of Hamas ruled that Israel must be eliminated, and the group’s military wing has carried out countless terrorist attacks to achieve that goal.
• Hamas’s political leaders, based in Qatar, were the first to celebrate the October 7 massacre by holding a special prayer.
• Notably, the October 7 massacre was masterminded and led by another Hamas political leader: the late Yahya Sinwar. The Gaza-based Sinwar served as chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau from August 2024, and as the political leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip from February 2017. The fact that he was a “politician” did not stop Sinwar from committing the worst massacre against Jews since the Holocaust.
• Hamas’s political leaders are aware that they will not be able to play any role in the Gaza Strip without the presence of their armed wing. The military wing of Hamas is crucial for the survival of the group’s political leadership. The political leaders need the military wing to control the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip, as they have been doing since their violent coup there in 2007.
• Hamas, which has brought death and destruction upon both Israelis and Palestinians, has no right to exist, either as a political or a military entity. Did it ever occur to anyone to allow the political leaders of ISIS or Al-Qaeda to play any role in Syria and Iraq?
• If Hamas is permitted to continue its political activities in the Gaza Strip, it will comfortably continue its jihad against Israel. The group’s political leaders will undoubtedly continue to call – in Arabic — for the annihilation of Israel and encourage Palestinians to launch terrorist attacks against it. This is precisely what Hamas political leaders have been doing since 1988.
• Witkoff’s talk about a possible political role for Hamas is dangerous, mainly because it implies that the US continues to view the terror group as a legitimate player in the Palestinian arena… If the US envoy wants to see stability… he must insist on the complete and permanent removal of Hamas – all of its “wings.” Destroying “much” of Hamas’s military capabilities or disarming it is totally worthless.
• Link: No Difference Between Hamas ‘Politicians’ And Terrorists

How many civilians were killed when we destroyed Islamic State? Weird how nobody cared by Jake Wallis Simons

• How many people were killed when the RAF joined the American-led coalition to destroy Islamic State? How many during our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq? How many, for that matter, in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine?
• Not only can most people not answer those questions but they haven’t thought to ask them in the first place. Not so in the case of Gaza, where such data forms the centrepiece of the debate. This morning, the BBC reports that more than 50,000 Palestinians have lost their lives there, according to “the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry”.
• Naturally, our national broadcaster neglected to mention that according to the IDF, about half of the dead happened to be in combat at the time.
• Look, let’s not rehearse the old arguments about the laughable fakery of the jihadi figures, the structural bias of the “United Nations and international institutions” — which, the BBC tells us, confirm that the data is “reliable” — the human-sacrifice strategy deployed by Hamas, the way the media makes that strategy worthwhile by dutifully amplifying the propaganda, the lengths to which Israel goes in evacuating civilians before attacks, the laws and norms of war, the history of Western military campaigns that have incurred far higher death tolls, or the ratio of combatant to civilian casualties, which, at about 1:1, speaks of an unparalleled level of restraint.
• We won’t go into all that again. Enough of us have been shouting these arguments into the wind for the last 17 months…
• There are two differences. Firstly, that in Gaza we are talking about Israel, which means we are talking about the Jews. That conflict has always been given exceptional treatment by people in the West who use it as a playground for their own neuroses (I’m addressing this at some length in my new book).
• Secondly, Islamic State jihadis simply did not have the propaganda apparatus that Hamas has built up over several decades.
• Because unlike Hamas, Islamic State did not have Western sympathy. The two jihadi groups both emerged from the same source, the Muslim Brotherhood, and both deploy similarly savage methods. But Hamas managed to capture hearts and minds in the democracies and as a result, we are eating out of the palms of their hands.
• Addressing Parliament last week about the resumption of hostilities in Gaza, Sir Keir Starmer said: “The images of parents carrying their young children to hospitals that have emerged over the last few days are truly shocking, alongside the number of people who have been killed.”
• His policy position was influenced by “the images”, he admitted, which are censored by Hamas and used as part of the most successful propaganda campaign to target the West since the Cold War. And the fact that he was “shocked” by the casualty numbers was testament to the success of the other focus of Hamas propaganda, the manipulation of death toll data and the way it is presented.
• The fact that the Gazan terror group has managed to focus the debate entirely on the numbers of dead in the Strip and the issue of aid, sidelining both the plight of the Israeli hostages and the reasons for the war in the first place, is a monumental triumph for the forces of jihad.
• Link: How many civilians were killed when we destroyed Islamic State?

505 Days in Hamas Captivity: A Former Hostage Speaks Out by Anat Peled and Shayndi Raice with the WSJ

• Omer Wenkert had nicknames for his Hamas captors. He called one of them Tznon, which means radish in Hebrew, after its bitter taste.
• About eight months into Wenkert’s captivity, Tznon turned from bitter to violent. He opened the door to the underground concrete dungeon where Wenkert was being held—less than 6 feet tall and around 3 feet wide—and kicked Wenkert three times in his head and twice in his back. Tznon told Wenkert it was punishment for looking at him.
• Wenkert is one of 38 hostages released after Hamas and Israel agreed to a cease-fire in January.
• When Wenkert returned to Israel in February, he had lost more than 80 pounds from before his capture.
• Wenkert said he’s plagued by survivor’s guilt over two young men, Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa Dalal, who were held with him for half of his time in captivity and remain in Gaza.
• Wenkert was kidnapped from the Nova music festival near the Gaza border. He was there for less than two hours when a stream of rockets punctured the air, sending air sirens blaring and festivalgoers running. He ran into a mobile bomb shelter along the road along with about 40 others. Only 12 would emerge alive.
• The militants started pouring gasoline. “They’re burning us!” someone screamed. The shelter grew hotter and hotter. Wenkert climbed out from under the weight of the bodies on top of him and ran through the fire. His body went numb, he said.
• When he emerged, the militants were waiting for him. He wet his pants and they stripped him down to his underwear, tied his hands behind his back and threw him into a white Toyota pickup truck.
• Soon after arriving in Gaza, Wenkert was taken underground into Hamas tunnels. He wouldn’t come out for 505 days.
• In May, Israel entered the southern Gaza city of Rafah, and his captors began beating him more fiercely. His mental state deteriorated, he said.
• By October, Israel cut back on the aid going into Gaza. The men got much less food. David and Shoham became so weak that they couldn’t move, Wenkert said. Their legs turned blue and yellow.
• After the new year, Wenkert and the other men noticed how their captors spoke more frequently about a possible cease-fire. The hostages were skeptical, having heard the back and forth before. Then all of a sudden, the amount of food they were given went up dramatically.
• The violence didn’t stop, though.
• One of the guards told Wenkert he was mad that the press and world leaders commented on how the hostages being released one week appeared weak and thin. His captor told him no matter how well they treated the Israeli hostages, Hamas would always be deemed villains. Then he beat Wenkert.
• Wenkert was freed on Feb. 22 in the central Gazan city of Nuseirat. Shoham was released from a different location. While Wenkert was being paraded on a stage by Hamas, he looked out and saw David and Dalal in a car nearby. They waved to each other. Hamas later released a video of the men watching Wenkert’s release and pleading for their own freedom.
• Link: 505 Days in Hamas Captivity: A Former Hostage Speaks Out

Hostage Update (no change)

From the Times of Israel: Hamas published on Saturday a second propaganda video of Israeli hostage Elkana Bohbot, in which the captive is seen begging for his release, desperately pleading with the government to return him home from captivity in Gaza, where he has been held by the terror group for 540 days. Shortly after the video was published by the terror group, Bohbot’s family approved the publication of the video in Israeli media, which does not share propaganda videos of hostages without family permission.

There are now currently 58 hostages taken on 10/7 currently in captivity in Gaza (there are 59 hostages remaining in total)

• 38 hostages were released in the first phase of the 2025 cease fire agreement (including 5 Thai nationals)
• 24 hostages will remain in captivity after Phase I and have not been declared dead.
  • 5 hostages are Americans: Meet the Five American Hostages Still Held By Hamas: Edan Alexander is assumed to be alive, Itay Chen is assumed to have been killed on 10/7, and Gadi Haggai, Judi Weinstein Haggai, and Omer Neutra have been confirmed to have been killed.
  • 4 are soldiers
  • 7 are residents of the Gaza border communities
  • 11 were abducted from the Nova music festival
  • 2 are foreign workers: Bipin Joshi from Nepal and Pinta Nattapong from Thailand
• Link: These are the hostages to be released (and left behind) in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal’s first phase – Jewish Telegraphic Agency

• On October 7^th, a total of 251 Israelis were taken hostage.
  • During the ceasefire deal in November of 2023, 112 hostages were released.
  • 193 hostages in total have been released or rescued
    • The bodies of 40 hostages have been recovered, including 3 mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.
  • 8 hostages have been heroically rescued by troops alive
• Of the 59 hostages still theoretically in Gaza
  • 31 hostages have been confirmed dead and are currently being held in Gaza
  • Thus, at most, 28 living hostages could still be in Gaza.
  • Hamas is now holding the body of 1 IDF soldier who was killed in 2014 (Lt. Hadar Goldin’s body remains held in the Gaza Strip)

Casualties (no change)

1,853 Israelis have been killed including 846 IDF soldiers since October 7th (no change since Wednesday)

• The South: 407 IDF soldiers during the ground operation in Gaza have been killed
• The North: 132 Israelis (84 IDF soldiers) have been killed during the war in Northern Israel
• The West Bank: 63 Israelis (27 IDF and Israeli security forces)
• Additional Information (according to the IDF):
  • 2,583 (no change since Wednesday) IDF soldiers have been injured during ground combat in Gaza, including at least 498 (no change since Wednesday) who have been severely injured.
  • 5,745 (+4 since Wednesday) IDF soldiers have been injured since the beginning of the war, including at least 855 (+1 since Wednesday) who have been severely injured.

• The Gaza Casualty Count:
  • According to unverified figures from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, 62,614 total deaths have been reported, with a civilian/combatant ratio: 1:1.
  • [MUST READ] Report: Questionable Counting: Analysing the Death Toll from the Hamas-Run Ministry of Health in Gaza by Andrew Fox with The Henry Jackson Society
  • On October 7th, Ohad Hemo with Channel 12 Israel News – the country’s largest news network, a leading expert on Palestinian and Arab affairs, mentioned an estimate from Hamas: around 80% of those killed in Gaza are members of the organization and their families.”
  • Read this well documented piece from Tablet published in March: How the Gaza Ministry of Health Fakes Casualty Numbers
  • The Associated Press, an outlet with a demonstrated anti-Israel bias, conducted an analysis of alleged Gaza death tolls released by the Hamas-controlled “Gaza Health Ministry.” The analysis found that “9,940 of the dead – 29% of its April 30 total – were not listed in the data” and that “an additional 1,699 records in the ministry’s April data were incomplete and 22 were duplicates.”
• The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes official details on every civilian and IDF casualty.

Regular sources include JINSA, FDD, IDF, AIPAC, The Paul Singer Foundation, The Institute for National Security Studies, the Alma Research and Education Center, Yediot, Jerusalem Post, IDF Casualty Count, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Institute for the Study of War, Tablet Magazine, Mosaic Magazine, The Free Press, and the Times of Israel