Gaza: Hundreds of Palestinians staged protests in northern Gaza, marking one of the largest demonstrations against Hamas since the conflict with Israel began. The protests, which erupted in Beit Lahia, called for an end to the war and demanded that Hamas relinquish power.

Videos circulating on social media showed protesters chanting slogans such as "Out, out, out, Hamas out" and "Hamas terrorists" while holding signs that read "Stop the war" and "We want to live in peace." Similar demonstrations were reported in the Jabalia refugee camp, where protesters burned tyres and chanted, "We want to eat," reflecting the deepening humanitarian crisis.

According to witnesses, Hamas militants, some armed and others wielding batons, forcibly dispersed the crowds, with several protesters being assaulted. Hamas security forces in civilian clothing allegedly infiltrated the gatherings to break them up.

The protests were largely mobilised through Telegram, though no specific group or leader has claimed responsibility for organising them.

A protester identified as Mohammed told AFP that he joined the demonstration to "send a message on behalf of the people: Enough with the war." Another protester, Majdi, said, "People are tired" and questioned why Hamas does not step down if it would help protect civilians.

Meanwhile, Hamas' political rival, Fatah, has called for Hamas to step aside. Monther al-Hayek, a Fatah spokesperson in Gaza, urged Hamas to relinquish control to ensure the survival of the Palestinian people.

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New Delhi: Gurugram Police have arrested BJP Yuva Morcha member Hariom Mishra, for allegedly spreading a fabricated and communally sensitive story on social media about the murder of a college student in Gurugram.

Mishra who is also known as Shaurya Mishra had shared a collage of four photographs on his X handle earlier this month. He claimed that a 24-year-old college student, identified as Nikita Agarwal, had been murdered by her classmate Arif Khan in Gurugram. In the post, he alleged that the woman was blackmailed, forced into prostitution, gangraped, and eventually killed. He also claimed that Arif dumped her body in a forest. The claims were presented as being based on police sources.

The post went viral and garnering over 1.5 lakh views, and was amplified by several right-wing social media handles across X, Facebook and Instagram. A verification of the claims revealed that no such incident had taken place in Gurugram. A search of credible news reports showed no record of any such murder. The police said this news would have inevitably attracted media attention if it were true.

On December 11, Gurugram Police publicly refuted the claims through their official X handle. They stated that the information which was being circulated was completely false. The police warned that legal action would be taken against those spreading misinformation. Despite the warning, Mishra neither deleted the post nor issued any clarification.

Police in Gurugram confirmed Mishra's arrest on December 16. The police said a FIR was filed after he continued to spread false information about the alleged murder of a Hindu woman by Muslim man. Police said Mishra, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Kaushambi district, is now being investigated.

Gurugram Police spokesperson Sandeep Singh told The Print that the accused had deliberately misrepresented facts and used objectionable content to spread hatred along religious lines. “Such posts can create serious disturbances in society, and the police take these matters very seriously,” he said.

A reverse image search conducted by fact-checkers at Alt News, revealed that the photographs used in the viral post were unrelated to the claims, while two of the images were traced to a Pinterest account belonging to influencer Maulik Chopra and another image was sourced from an Instagram post by influencer Shivam Thakur featuring a woman named Deepanshi Rawat. The fourth image was found on an unrelated Instagram page. The images depicted different individuals and had no connection to any crime.
Police said they are also investigating Mishra’s motive behind sharing the false and provocative content.