‘Our children need food and water’: Gaza workers protest for salaries withheld by Hamas

The workers also accused the international community of turning a blind eye to Hamas’s large-scale theft.

By Sveta Listratov, TPS

In a rare protest against Hamas, Palestinian employees of the Gaza City municipality demonstrated to recieve salaries withheld by the terror group. The protest coincided with International Workers’ Day.

“It’s been two months — eighty days without salaries, without even an advance,” one employee of the northern Gaza city told The Press Service of Israel. “This is injustice and forbidden!”

Another employee told TPS-IL, “Dozens of workers still go out daily to open blocked roads and maintain basic infrastructure by hand. But no one takes responsibility for our suffering — not local authorities, not international organizations.”

One worker who identified himself as Mazal Matar Tutah told TPS-IL, “Before the war, we used to at least celebrate holidays. Today, we can’t even stay in our homes — our children need food and water, and we have no way to provide.”

As TPS-IL has reported, Hamas controls the flow of cash inside Gaza by taxing and hijacking humanitarian aid deliveries.

TPS-IL also recently reported that money changers affiliated with Hamas are charging fees of 20–40% to convert digital financial aid into cash for residents.

“Our president used to give us an advance of 500 shekels. Today we get nothing,” one protester told TPS-IL. “We haven’t received a single shekel in two months.”

The workers also accused the international community of turning a blind eye to Hamas’s large-scale theft. “Where are the human rights? Where is the UN?” Tutah asked. “They speak about democracy and justice, but they are silent when it comes to us.”

Protesters added that the diversion of aid has left them unable to do their work.

“We want to work. We want equipment to dig, to fix sewage lines, to get water running again. Right now, the sewage is overflowing, and water is scarce,” one worker said.

At least 1,180 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 59 remaining hostages, 36 are believed to be dead.