GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Palestinian journalist Ayman al-Aloul frequently writes about the hardships of life in the Gaza Strip, and is one of the few voices willing to publicly criticize the rule of the Hamas movement.

But after nine days in jail, Aloul says he won’t be writing about politics anymore. He said a painful experience that included beatings and being forced to sit uncomfortably in a tiny chair has made him a ‘‘new man’’ and that he will now focus on less controversial topics like sports, food, and fashion.

‘‘I’ve decided not to talk about the general situation anymore,’’ Aloul said Tuesday, a day after he was released. ‘‘The experience I went through was very difficult.’’

Aloul’s experience is part of a crackdown by Hamas at a time when the continuing miseries of life in Gaza appear to be driving its population toward more open dissent. Critics have grown bolder on social media sites, and attempts by Hamas to impose new taxes have triggered rare public protests.

Aloul said his new reticence would not affect his work as a TV reporter, which he described as straight news reporting and not ‘‘opinion-making.’’

It was his personal social media activity that drew attention. In recent months, he wrote under a popular hashtag urging Hamas to withdraw from the Rafah crossing point between Gaza and Egypt. Like many Palestinians, he believes that Egypt has shuttered Rafah because it doesn’t want to deal with Hamas, and proposes letting the Western-backed Palestinian Authority manage the crossing.

He also published pictures of people looking for leftover food in garbage containers, quoted business owners angry over increased taxes, and blamed Gaza authorities for prolonged power blackouts.

On Jan. 3, Hamas forces arrested him and another outspoken critic, Ramzi Herzallah, in their homes in Gaza City. During his detention, Aloul said he was repeatedly slapped in the face by his interrogators and twice sent to a room known euphemistically as ‘‘the bus.’’ He described it as a room equipped with children’s chairs, where detainees are blindfolded and forced to sit for an entire day.

‘‘They think that my posts on Facebook harm the Gaza government,’’ he said. ‘‘They considered criticizing the government to be criticism of ‘the resistance’ and they accused me of harming the revolutionary unity,’’ Aloul said.

Herzallah, also released Monday, said he too experienced ‘‘the bus,’’ but declined to comment further. Hamas’ Interior Ministry declined comment.

Hamas, an Islamist movement pledged to Israel’s destruction, seized Gaza from the Palestinian Authority in 2007. Despite being branded a terrorist group by Israel and the West, and enduring three wars with Israel and an Israeli-Egyptian blockade, it has clung to power.

The 2014 war, precipitated by a string of events that included heavy rocket fire into Israel, was especially devastating. More than 2,100 Gazans, including hundreds of civilians, were killed, and some 100,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. Seventy-two people, including six civilians, were killed on the Israeli side.

Only a tiny fraction of affected homes have been rebuilt. Electricity is available for as little as three hours a day, and gas for heating and cooking is rationed. The power shortage stems from infighting between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, which coordinates fuel purchases from Israel.