Thousands of Palestinians have taken to the streets to protest against Hamas in Gaza for a second day, after hundreds protested on Wednesday (AEDT), in a sign of deepening angst at the militant group as frustrations over the destruction of their homes and lives boil over into the open.

The anti-Hamas demonstrations also expose the folly of Western activists, who staged pro-Hamas demonstrations in the name of these same Palestinians.

“Out, out, Hamas out,” crowds shouted in the Shujaiya neighbourhood of Gaza City, echoing chants from Tuesday’s protests, according to a video verified by Storyful.

Some Palestinians appeared defiant in the face of a possible crackdown by Hamas, which has controlled the enclave of about two million people with a firm grip and is unlikely to accept widespread dissent. Hamas tried to suppress Tuesday’s protests, but at least one of its fighters was beaten by the crowd, said Abu Tamer, a resident of Beit Lahiya, the epicentre of Tuesday’s protests in the northern Gaza Strip.

“Hamas did not prevent the protests because they completely disappeared from the streets. They cannot stand up to the population who are against them,” Abu Tamer said.

An Israeli official told local media that fact the protests had expanded on the second day was “an indication that there is a shift in the public’s attitude toward Hamas,” and showed they were authentic.

The astonishing street protests against Hamas in Gaza by thousands of brave Palestinians will hurt the terror group more than any Israeli bomb ever could. The protests, which have grown in size over successive days, speak to the central truth – which so many anti-Israeli activists in Australia cannot admit – that Hamas is the true enemy of the Palestinians in Gaza.

The fact that protests of this size are unfolding among a population which once elected Hamas as their rulers says much about how many Gazans now recognise that the terror group has jeopardised their lives and their future by its ongoing conflict with Israel.

It remains to be seen if these protests, which are so far limited in size, flourish into a broader public movement which would make it difficult, if not impossible, for Hamas to remain in power. This would be the single best outcome for the future of Gaza during the 17-month conflict because peace can only come to the enclave once Hamas has given up military and administrative power.

But the fact that thousands of Palestinians have the courage to take to the streets to label Hamas as terrorists and demand that they should leave Gaza, shows the depth of their anger and desperation.

I do not believe that Hamas could have orchestrated this action to fool Israel and the West.