How will the war in Gaza end? Will it end with the ejection of the Gazans, or the ejection of Hamas? Right now, those are the two choices facing the Gazans -- and they seem to have figured it out. 

Yesterday, spontaneous demonstrations against Hamas took place amidst the ruins of Gazan cities. Angry Gazans demanded and end to the war, chanting "Out, out! Hamas get out!" Reportedly, Hamas operatives tried to shut down the demonstrations, which they characterized as Israeli intel operations:

🚨 Breaking: Large-scale Protests Against Hamas in Gaza

"Down with Hamas, we’ve had enough, Hamas!”

"The people are demanding Hamas to release the hostages, to step down from ruling Gaza, and to end this war" pic.twitter.com/c9XzbeE4Hw

— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) March 25, 2025

That last video with subtitles:https://t.co/VVe70G3TrM

— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) March 25, 2025

At least three such demonstrations took place, the Times of Israel reports. They also note the rarity of such protests under the totalitarian thumb of Hamas and its sponsors in Iran:

Hundreds of Palestinians protested against Hamas rule and against the war in at least three locations in Gaza on Tuesday, in a relatively rare occurrence in the Strip due to the terror group’s often violent suppression of political dissent.

Footage showed around 100 residents of Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, holding a protest calling for an end to the war and an end to Hamas’s governance, with some demonstrators carrying signs reading “Stop war” and “Children in Palestine want to live.”

Additionally, a few video clips captured residents chanting “Hamas out,” “Hamas terrorists,” “The people want to overthrow Hamas” and “Yes to peace, no to the ongoing war.”

The momentum soon spread to other areas of Gaza:

As news of the protests spread, other demonstrations broke out across Gaza, including one in the major southern city of Khan Younis, where protesters were filmed chanting “down with Hamas,” and calling for an end to the fighting.

Why now? First, Hamas overplayed its propaganda hand by claiming that the Israelis had ended the war at the time of the most recent pause. Hamas immediately declared victory and began reasserting its iron-grip control over Gazans. When Israel cut off the aid flowing into Gaza -- an absurdity in this war that should never have taken place at all -- Hamas lost some of its leverage over the populace. And when the IDF re-entered the Netzarim corridor and began offensive operations again, it became very clear to Gazans that Hamas hadn't accomplished anything to protect them.

With all of that said, these demonstrations are an indicator of Hamas' problems, but not yet a collapse of its power. Having a few hundred protesters in the streets is a signal of deep unrest. However, it will take a much bigger uprising for Gazans to rid themselves of Hamas, and right now it appears that Hamas controls all of the weapons; no one in these videos appears to be armed.

Time is running out for the Gazans to take action to end the war, too. They could end it today by returning the hostages to the Israelis and capitulating to the IDF, while surrendering Hamas leadership and operatives. At least thus far, the Gazans have not yet taken any such steps to end the war, even with Israel offering cash and protection for Gaza families that will cooperate in the return of hostages. If the Gazans really want an end to this war and to Hamas tyranny, they'd better start acting like it.

Because the clock is ticking -- especially in Cairo. The UAE reportedly paid a visit to Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to warn him that the US will send its aid dollars elsewhere unless Egypt relocates a massive number of Gazans:

President Trump and Tahnoun bin Zayed, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi and UAE National Security Advisor, met at the White House last Tuesday. Following their conversation, the United States announced that the UAE has committed to investing $1.4 trillion in the American economy over the next 10 years.

Zayed reportedly emphasized that if Egypt continues to refuse the transfer of Gazan residents, the United States would redirect economic aid intended for Egypt to other regions. In exchange for accepting the displaced individuals, the United States has promised to provide billions of dollars in support of reviving the struggling Egyptian economy.

According to Al-Araby’s Egyptian sources, the current proposal involves transferring between 500,000 and 700,000 Palestinian citizens from the area spanning the northern Netzarim axis and the Gaza Envelope settlements in the northern Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip would be confined to the area south of the Netzarim axis, extending to the current border with Egypt, according to the plan.

Allegedly, the United States and Israel are primarily focused on relocating Gazans to Egypt, postponing Jordan’s role in the transfer, which will include absorbing residents of the West Bank at a later stage.

In other words, it's not just the Gazans who stand to lose. The entire idea of a Palestinian state is just about to implode under the weight of decades of terrorism and war, primarily pushed by Iran over the last twenty years. No one trusts the Palestinians with a sovereign state these days, and now they may not even get the lesser misery of occupation when this war ends -- in either Gaza or the West Bank. 

The Egyptians will not be happy to cooperate, to say the least, but they may have no choice if other Sunni Arab nations sign on to this plan. The Palestinians will go back to their actual Arab identity -- you can bet that al-Sisi won't allow them to exist as 'refugees' for long -- and the sinkhole of Gaza will finally get some sort of reliable resolution. It may not be a perfect ending, but at least it will be an ending.

The Gazans can still write a different ending. But if they don't do it soon, that opportunity will pass them by -- one of a series of opportunities that the 'Palestinians' have let slip through their fingers over the last 80 years.