From inside Gaza City, activist Moumen Al-Natour, 29, has spoken to the Mirror about the turning tide against Hamas, who have “created hell” for his fellow Palestinians
A courageous Palestinian activist has spoken to the Mirror from inside Gaza and described his desperate attempts to get rid of Hamas.[1][2]
Moumen Al-Natour, 29, said the tide was really turning against Hamas as ordinary Palestinians just wanted peace. He describes how he spends his time trying to stay alive – fleeing both from the overall war and feared assassination attempts from Hamas. He said he had to “duck and dive” all the time.
In a series of video calls with the Mirror[3] he bravely spoke out. He said: “Hamas has created hell here. They must go. We need to get out of the hell we are living in now. We represent the majority of the Palestinian people in Gaza. The numbers of protesters are increasing every day. Everyone declares in Gaza that they do not want Hamas to remain in Gaza.
He said it was very sad that so many thousands of innocent people have died since 2023. And he was particularly critical of the distribution of aid in recent months. He said: “I am shocked and disappointed that the aid Israel[4] had organised through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has not been reaching the majority of our people. This must be improved and fast.
“The Israelis failed to prevent Hamas infiltrating the crowds, and they failed to see that Hamas wins the propaganda war when it creates more death. Today we must continue our movement against the Hamas government. And step up the revolution against this awful reality that was created by Hamas on October 7th.[5]
“The hostages are being held by Hamas, not by ordinary Gazans — and the homes where some hostages may still be held belong to Hamas. But Hamas is making us pay an unbearable price for their madness.
“We see hell growing and expanding. Staying alive is difficult and costly in Gaza. And the community here is desperate and trying to get out of the impasse that Hamas has put us in.
“I’m losing everything. I’m losing hope. We must stop this slaughter.” He led the ‘I Want to Live’ protest demonstrations against Hamas even before the war started. He said: “I have over a thousand men willing to rise up and we can run things effectively and without corruption when Hamas is driven out of Gaza City”.
Al-Natour revealed how he returned to Gaza City “halfway through this war even though it’s much more dangerous here.” He said it was the only place he could leave a revolution and change lives of ordinary Palestinians.
He said: “It’s so I can help lead a revolt against Hamas, and help my five sisters, two brothers and my mum. Israel does not yet control Gaza City itself so Hamas operatives could find and kill me. I duck and dive. Now I have had to flee my home while my mother and sisters and brothers continue to survive there.”
Alnatour gave an extraordinary insight into life in Gaza. He said: “I have some money still, from what I earned well as a lawyer, so I can buy stuff from black market shops. “Today I bought one kilogram of wheat for twenty dollars. That’s wheat provided supposedly by the UN for free.
“The black market shops have things because they buy them from Hamas, which steals them from the aid convoys or from corrupt UN officials.” He spoke about his hope for the future: “I think there should be a local leader who can lead Gaza toward a just, righteous and fair government that believes in society more than in politics.
“I think that Gazans and Israelis will eventually resume their neighbourly relationship. Why not? We call it in Arabic: “Love after torture.” After this war we need to start a period of peace between Israel and us Palestinians.
“I believe in peace with Israel as a state and I recognise it as a state. If you keep seeing the other side as your enemy, generations will be destroyed.”