Hamas Cracks Down on Armed Groups in Gaza Amid Ceasefire

Strategic Insights -

As the Gaza ceasefire holds, Hamas security forces have returned to the streets, clashing with armed groups and killing alleged gangsters in what the militant group says is an attempt to restore law and order in areas where Israeli troops have withdrawn. The move, welcomed by some Palestinians after months of lawlessness, could threaten the truce now that all the living hostages taken in Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack have been released. The show of force may also put pressure on the international community to take a stance on Hamas' disarmament, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said the war will not end until Hamas has been dismantled, and U.S. President Donald Trump's ceasefire plan calls for Hamas to disarm and hand power over to an internationally supervised body that has yet to be formed.

Key Takeaways:

  • Hamas security forces have returned to the streets in Gaza, clashing with armed groups and killing alleged gangsters in an attempt to restore law and order.
  • The move has been welcomed by some Palestinians, but could threaten the truce as long as Hamas is armed.
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said the war will not end until Hamas has been dismantled, while US President Donald Trump's ceasefire plan calls for Hamas to disarm and hand power over to an internationally supervised body.
  • Hamas has not fully accepted the terms of the ceasefire plan, saying more negotiations are needed to establish a framework for disarmament.
  • The show of force by Hamas may put pressure on the international community to take a stance on Hamas' disarmament.
  • Powerful local families and armed gangs, including some backed by Israel, have stepped into the void left by the retreat of Hamas security forces in recent months.
  • The Israeli military has denied involvement in the looting of aid convoys, but has acknowledged supporting anti-Hamas militias.
  • Hamas-related Telegram channels have reported targeting "collaborators and traitors" working with Israel, and the Hamas-run Sahm security force has shared footage of its forces killing alleged gangsters execution-style.
  • The Gaza-based Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights have denounced the extrajudicial killings by Hamas.
  • Hamas has announced a weeklong amnesty for gang members not implicated in bloodshed, but those who do not turn themselves in will face arrest and prosecution.

Statistics:

  • 18 years: the amount of time Hamas has run the police in Gaza after the militants seized power.
  • 2 years: the amount of time since the ruinous war in Gaza that has led to humanitarian crises.
  • 2 dozen: the number of people, including a local journalist and a son of a senior Hamas official, killed in clashes with Hamas.
  • 8: the number of people killed execution-style by Hamas forces.
  • 5: the number of members of the al-Muqaid family ambushed and robbed by an armed gang.
  • 1: the number of members of the al-Muqaid family killed in the ambush.
  • 1: the number of people left in intensive care after being ambushed by the armed gang.
  • 2023: the year of the Hamas attack that led to the current crisis.

Sources:

  • AP news article on the situation in Gaza
  • Statement by the Hamas-run Interior Ministry
  • Twitter account of Hossam al-Astal, leader of an anti-Hamas militia in southern Gaza
  • Article by the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights denouncing the extrajudicial killings by Hamas
  • Article by the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights denouncing the extrajudicial killings by Hamas