After Israel's withdrawal

Battle for power in Gaza: Hamas shoots opponents

(Bild: OSINT)

The Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas is militarily on the ground after the war against Israel. However, it wants to defend its supremacy in the Gaza Strip against rivals by any means necessary. Since the beginning of the ceasefire, there have been fights and shootings in the streets. 

After the ceasefire came into force last Friday, things had to move quickly. The Hamas leadership hastily called up around 7,000 fighters in order to regain control of the areas in the Gaza Strip immediately after the withdrawal of Israeli troops. The mobilization order to the fighters was issued by text message, stating that the aim was to "cleanse Gaza of outlaws and collaborators of Israel", as the BBC reported, citing sources on the ground.

Pictures of a public shooting are circulating online.(Bild: OSINT)

Public shootings
Since then, Hamas forces have been taking brutal action against their opponents. Security forces in the Gaza Strip say that 32 members of a gang have been killed. They are said to be close to a clan in Gaza City that rivals Hamas. The right-hand man of a leader of a rival group was also killed. A video circulated on social media on Monday also showed how gunmen shot at least seven men in the street.

An armed fighter at a checkpoint in the settlement of Nuseirat in central Gaza(Bild: AFP/EYAD BABA)

"Fleeing from their own people"
The first fighting broke out on Saturday after gunmen from the Doghmush clan shot dead two members of the Hamas elite forces. More than 300 Hamas fighters then stormed a block of flats where the clan members were holed up, eyewitnesses told the BBC. Dozens of families who had already lost their homes in the war against Israel had to flee again. "This time they were not fleeing from Israeli attacks," said one witness. "They had to run away from their own people."

Masked and armed men loyal to Hamas patrol the Gaza Strip.(Bild: AFP/EYAD BABA)

Even during the Gaza war, Hamas increasingly faced internal challenges from rival groups, often linked to clans such as the Doghmush family. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to take advantage of this: He had declared that he would arm clans that opposed Hamas. The power vacuum created after the defeat of Hamas was to be filled by the clans, according to rumored considerations.

Although Hamas has been considerably weakened by the war it started, it still seems to have enough strength to prevent such a vacuum from developing. Since the beginning of the ceasefire, it has wanted to position itself as a force for order in the Gaza Strip. Loyal fighters - masked and with assault rifles - are making their presence felt on the streets.

Green light from Trump
Apparently, the radical Islamic organization has the blessing of a powerful position. US President Donald Trump has indicated that Hamas has been given the green light for a temporary police function. "They want to stop the problems, and they've said that openly, and we've given them permission for a period of time," he said on Monday on his way to the Middle East.

This is at odds with Trump's plan for the post-war order, which envisions a demilitarized Gaza with no Hamas power-sharing. Hamas rejects disarmament, but has stated that it does not seek a role in a future government of the Gaza Strip. However, this would have to be decided by the Palestinians without foreign control. Whether Hamas is actually prepared to allow free elections is at least questionable in view of the methods it has demonstrated so far.

We know how it works with terrorist groups.

Der französische Präsident Macron gibt sich keinen Illusionen hin.

In any case, French President Emmanuel Macron is warning of a continuing threat from Hamas. "You don't smash a terrorist group with thousands of fighters, tunnels and this kind of weaponry overnight," Macron expressed his concern after the ceasefire was sealed on Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. The president predicted that there would be terrorist attacks and destabilization in the coming weeks and months: "We know how things work with terrorist groups."