Hamas Unleashes Brutal Crackdown on Protests, Torturing and Killing Gaza Residents

Ahmed al-Masri, a 26-year-old protest organizer in Gaza, was abducted by Hamas gunmen and brutally tortured, with his feet deliberately broken with large stones and iron crowbars and shot in the legs. His is just one of many cases of violence and intimidation unleashed by Hamas against ordinary Gazans who have been protesting against the terror group's rule. As Israel's campaign to squeeze Hamas's military and economic strength continues, the terror group has turned to ever-crueller methods to keep control of an increasingly desperate population.

Key Takeaways:

• Ahmed al-Masri, a 26-year-old protest organizer, was abducted by Hamas gunmen and tortured, with his feet deliberately broken and shot in the legs.
• Multiple sources confirm that Hamas has executed and arrested people in order to intimidate the population and terrorize them, particularly after the protests of April and May.
• The terror group has used a smear campaign against those who demonstrate dissent, accusing them of collaborating with Israel, a tactic that has been used since the British mandate in Palestine.
• Hamas has also used violence and intimidation to suppress dissent, with victims being shot, tortured, and even executed in broad daylight, as witnessed in a video showing masked figures using a long metal pole to smash a blindfolded man's kneecaps.
• The terror group has taken advantage of Israel's conflict with Iran to step up its campaign of intimidation, with some activists believing that Hamas has flooded social media with graphic videos and photographs to shift attention away from its brutal tactics.

Statistics:

• At least 100 people died in less than 24 hours on Thursday in Gaza, with many more injured in the violence.
• The protests of April and May, which drew thousands of people into the streets, have since died out, with some activists suggesting that Hamas's use of coercion and intimidation has succeeded in silencing dissent.
• Hamas has allegedly tormented and killed at least a dozen people in recent weeks, with some activists estimating that the death toll could be much higher.
• The new aid distribution system, which has been condemned as inhumane, has been implicated in mass shootings, with at least eight Palestinian workers killed in an ambush on June 11.

Sources:

• The Telegraph
• Khaled Abu Toameh, lecturer and expert on Palestinian affairs
• Howidy Hamza, activist
• Heba Almisshal, sister of Osama Sa'adu Al-Masahal, who was killed in a Hamas ambush
• Mohammed Abu Saeed, protest organizer, allegedly shot multiple times in the feet
• Yasser Abu Shabab, leader of a clan in the south of Gaza, allegedly armed by Israel