Hamas tortures, executes protesters in brutal crackdown

Odai al-Rubai was beaten for hours with clubs and metal bars before he was dumped, dying, on his family’s doorstep while others were shot and left in public squares as Hamas cracks down on dissent.

Palestinians take part in an anti-Hamas protest, calling for an end to the war with Israel, in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip. Picture: AFP.

Hamas has begun a brutal crackdown on Gazans who protested against the group last week, executing at least six and publicly beating others, according to Israeli media.

One of those murdered was Odai al-Rubai, 22, who was beaten and tortured for four hours before he was dumped, dying, on his family’s doorstep.

“He was dragged by a rope around his neck, beaten with clubs and metal rods in front of passersby,” a resident of Gaza City told Israel’s Ynet TV.

Another resident posted on X that as they dumped his body, militants told Mr Rubai’s family: “This is the punishment for those who bad mouth Hamas.”

Ynet also reported that another protester, Hussam al-Majdalawi, was kidnapped, shot in the legs and left in a public square in the Nuseirat refugee camp.

Despite Hamas’s efforts to silence them, mourners at Mr Rubai’s funeral continued to protest, shouting: “Hamas out!”

The family of 22-year-old Odai Nasser Saadi Al-Rubai, who was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by Hamas militias, opened fire during his funeral and vowed to avenge his death.

Mourners turned the funeral into a protest against Hamas, chanting: "Hamas out, out!" pic.twitter.com/snKhFh6ZVH

— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) March 29, 2025

Thousands protested for three consecutive days last week but there were no rallies over the weekend as Hamas began its crackdown.

Late last week Hamas and other Gaza terror groups published a statement vowing to crack down on the protesters and punish organisers. “These suspicious individuals as responsible as the occupation for the bloodshed of our people and will be treated accordingly,” the statement read.

Hamza al-Masri, a Gazan social activist who has already lost an eye after being tortured by Hamas, said the crackdown was part of a broader effort to silence dissent, Ynet reports.

“Just for asking to live, a Hamas military unit kidnapped several young men, including helpless Odai,” Mr al-Masri wrote on social media. “Hours after he was taken, he was returned to his family without life.”

He added that Hamas was preventing local journalists from reporting the abuses.

“There isn’t a single journalist in Gaza who can speak about the crimes being committed here,” he said. “The world has no idea what’s happening.”

Odai al-Rubai was tortured before he was dumped, dying, on his family's doorstep. Picture: X.

Kan TV, Israel’s public broadcaster, said the crackdown was not as widespread as Hamas hoped because the Israeli military targeted any militants they spotted in the open.

Kan also reported that Hamas leaders had shown some willingness to release a small number of hostages to secure a truce during Eid al-Fitr – the festival that marks the end of Ramadan – in part to prevent further protests.

Hamas had offered to release five hostages in exchange for a 50 day ceasefire but on Sunday (local time) Jerusalem demanded an increase in the number of living hostages released to 11, along with the return of half the bodies of killed hostages.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday also offered to let Hamas leaders leave Gaza but demanded the group abandon its arms, as his country kept up its bombardment of the enclave.

Gaza’s civil defence agency said an Israeli air strike on a house and tent sheltering displaced Palestinians killed at least eight people, including five children.

Israel resumed intense bombing of the Palestinian territory on March 18 and then launched a new ground offensive, ending a nearly two-month ceasefire in the war with Hamas.

Mr Netanyahu rejected criticism that his government was not engaging in negotiations aimed at releasing hostages held in Gaza, insisting the renewed military pressure on Hamas was proving effective.

“We are negotiating under fire … We can see cracks beginning to appear” in Hamas’s positions, the Israeli leader told a cabinet meeting.

In the “final stage”, Mr Netanyahu said: “Hamas will lay down its weapons. Its leaders will be allowed to leave.

“The military pressure is working,” he said.

“It crushes Hamas’s military and governmental capabilities.” He said his government would ­“further pound Hamas and create the optimal conditions for releasing our hostages”.

Hamas has expressed a willingness to relinquish Gaza’s administration, but has warned its weapons are a “red line”.

A video released by the group at the weekend showed hostage ­Elkana Bohbot, 36, saying he was afraid he would die under Israeli ­bombardment.

“No one can get us out using force, can’t you see that? It will kill us … I am terrified every second of the day that I will die here.”

Egypt, Qatar and the United States are attempting to again broker a ceasefire and secure the release of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.

A senior Hamas official stated on Saturday that the group had approved a new ceasefire proposal put forward by mediators and urged Israel to support it.

Mr Netanyahu’s office confirmed receipt of the proposal and stated that Israel had submitted a counter-proposal in response.

However, the details of the latest mediation efforts remain undisclosed.

With AFP