'Free Gazans' campaign highlights how Hamas hurts Palestinians

A new campaign called "Free Gazans" says it "seeks to free Gaza from Hamas" and raise awareness about how the Palestinian people have been harmed by the terrorist group, which has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007.

Hamas has used the Gazan people as "pawns in a larger geopolitical game" as they suffer from "international isolation of the territory, crippling economic conditions, inadequate access to healthcare, and a faltering infrastructure," the U.S.-based organization states on its website, FreeGazans.com. It describes itself as "a diverse coalition of Americans from different backgrounds coming together to promote peace."

The group organized what it calls a "Petition to stand with the Gazan people," which calls on the international community to ensure that aid goes directly to Gazans rather than Hamas, that civilians will be protected from militias and that money will support education for Gazan children.

The group says that Hamas is holding two million Gazans hostage and the only way to truly free the Gazan people and have a ceasefire is by removing Hamas from power. 

"There is no future for Gaza with Hamas. Peace will always be impossible without ushering in a new government. We're bringing awareness to this plain reality without taking sides in this divisive war," David Grasso, a spokesperson for the group, told the outlet ADN America.

Israel began a military campaign in the Gaza Strip after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and kidnapping approximately 240 others. 

The Hamas-run Gazan Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatant and civilian casualties, has said Israel killed nearly 20,000 people. Even as aid trucks go into Gaza, the United Nations found in a report Thursday that more than 575,000 Gazans are at risk of starvation.  

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