NYT: Palestinians Are Starting to Stand Up to Hamas, Reject Being Used as Human Shields

Palestinian civilians are beginning to stand up to Hamas in the Gaza Strip, refusing to be “human shields” for the terror organization — a sign that the group may be losing its sway over the population as the war nears the year mark.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that civilians are rejecting their assigned role in Hamas’s battle plan — either to shield terrorists or to cause public relations damage to Israel in the event that it does attack Hamas in those areas.

The Times noted:

Residents, already forced to evacuate their homes because of Israel’s intense bombardment, wanted to avoid becoming a target for Israeli forces hunting down Hamas militants.

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It is hard to know how widespread the phenomenon is, and whether the armed militia are from Hamas, Islamic Jihad or other armed gangs, but these residents’ experiences suggest that at least some evacuees have blocked armed militias from moving into these [school] shelters.

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The residents’ testimonies also suggested that Hamas’s grip on the enclave may be weakened by the war and that ad hoc community groups are starting to operate outside the organization’s control, at least on a small scale.