Hamas reasserts control over parts of Gaza not occupied by Israeli forces as the country consolidates…
Hamas is reasserting control over parts of Gaza not occupied by Israeli forces as the ceasefire consolidates, amid continued uncertainty over security in the area if the group is disarmed.
Hamas internal security forces were seen on the streets of Gaza City on Saturday, and in recent days there have been multiple reports of clashes between the group and clans opposing it.
“Several collaborators and informants were captured and arrested in Gaza City after it was proven that they were involved in espionage for the enemy,” and “participated in the assassination of several members of the resistance,” the Palestinian Internal Front, a Telegram channel affiliated with Hamas, said this Sunday.
“The security forces and the resistance are conducting a large-scale field campaign in all parts of Gaza, from north to south, to track down and arrest collaborators and informants,” he added.
A video distributed Saturday by Hamas-affiliated Telegram channels showed an alleged collaborator being beaten at an unknown location.
Other videos circulated on social media show armed and masked Hamas members walking through a street market in Gaza City, and the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry shared footage of officers with guns and baseball caps reading “police” in Gaza City interacting with residents.
Hamas has long maintained tight control over Gaza, which continued even during the war. CNN has reported on executions and mutilations carried out by Hamas on suspected looters, a sign of the group’s power despite being weakened by Israel.
The Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry declared a one-week amnesty starting Monday for members of criminal gangs “not involved in bloodshed or murder.”
But Hamas’ control of Gaza has been challenged by several clans in recent months, especially in the south. Some of these groups have received protection from Israeli forces.
Hamas-affiliated social media outlets reported clashes in the Sabra area of Gaza City between a prominent family and security forces, killing Muhammad Imad Aql, son of a senior Hamas military commander.
Hamas forces surrounded the Dughmush family’s neighborhood on Friday evening. Sources told CNN that several family members had been killed and a large number of armed and masked men had been deployed around the Jordanian hospital in Gaza City.
CNN was told on Sunday that fighting continued in the area.
In southern Gaza, an anti-Hamas opposition group known as the Popular Forces has refused to lay down its arms.
The group has been involved in escorting aid shipments and has publicly challenged Hamas, which in turn has said it will fight what it called “a criminal gang.”
One of his commanders, Hussam al-Astal, posted on Facebook on Saturday: “To all Hamas rats: your tunnels have been destroyed, your rights no longer exist. Repent before it’s too late: from today there is no more Hamas.”
“We are trying to be an alternative to Hamas,” al-Astal told the Israeli network Channel 12. “They are committed to psychological warfare… and they will use all their power to show that there is no other option than them in the enclave.”
However, members of the Popular Forces are believed to have moved behind what is known as the “yellow line” in southern Gaza, where Israeli forces are still present.
It is unclear how security and police in Gaza will operate in the coming weeks and months.
Israel has long demanded that Hamas disarm, but the group has resisted this.
US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan, released last week, says that “Hamas members who commit to peaceful coexistence and surrender their weapons will be granted amnesty.”
It also says a process to demilitarize Gaza will take place “under the supervision of independent monitors, with weapons permanently decommissioned through an agreed disarmament process.”
In place of Hamas, under Trump’s plan, an International Stabilization Force (ISF) will be immediately deployed to Gaza and “train and provide support to select Palestinian police forces.”
But critical details about the security force and a planned international oversight mechanism have yet to be worked out beyond the broad outlines of the original plan.
In the complex reality of the current situation in Gaza, setting up such a force could take months or longer, especially amid a humanitarian crisis and massive damage to buildings and other infrastructure.
“Deploying (the ISF) in the required numbers will have to happen over time and will be a major logistical challenge,” said London-based think tank Chatham House.
“The coordination, direction and control challenges of an unproven multinational of the required size will also be formidable,” he noted last week.
Casualties among Gaza’s police forces during the two-year conflict have contributed to deteriorating security, with looting of aid supplies becoming commonplace.
Jordan and Egypt are expected to take the lead in training and overseeing the new police force. But it is unclear when that force will begin patrolling the streets of Gaza, or whether Hamas’s internal security forces will disappear when that happens.
The CNN Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
#Hamas #claims #control #parts #Gaza #targets #suspected #collaborators #ceasefire #strengthens #WTOP #News