After elements of the Hamas movement violently assaulted Palestinian political activist Ameen Abed, causing him to suffer broken teeth and limbs due to his anti-Hamas posts on Facebook, the young man sent a message from his hospital bed where he is receiving treatment. Ameen Abed said, "I expected you to kill me... but you made a mistake by not killing me," adding, "As long as this weak heart beats and this tongue speaks, you will not find peace in your kidnapping of the poor residents of Gaza, whom you have been kidnapping for 17 years and torturing." He continued, "You are accomplices in the occupation in killing us," noting that "Rabin and Shamir used a policy of breaking bones against the Palestinian people, and you have used against me broken teeth and bones three times." He concluded by saying, "As long as the tongue speaks and the heart beats with love for Palestine and its people, I will keep speaking."
Aamer Baaloucha, a friend of the activist, stated that more than 20 masked men attacked him, and when passersby intervened, the assailants fired shots into the air, claiming to be from Hamas's internal security. Political activist Abed is one of those who remained in northern Gaza after the Israeli onslaught on the territory. Abed's stance towards Hamas dates back to before the outbreak of the Gaza war on October 7. In June 2022, Abed asserted that “Hamas’s coup against legitimacy—and against itself fundamentally—has led to a state of loss, hopelessness, and the loss of dreams and work among the youth. The sector and its youth have become devoid of all the essentials of life and the minimum requirements for a decent living.” Abed also helped organize protests in 2019 due to harsh economic conditions. The movement faces a lot of dissenting voices from within the sector, as some see it has cost Gazans an extremely high price following the October 7 attack. Meanwhile, Israel continues its military operations within the sector, resulting in more than 38,000 deaths, the majority of whom are civilians, in just nine months.
