Hamas forces give show of force; clashes in Gaza Strip with alleged gangsters
As the Gaza ceasefire holds, Hamas security forces have returned to the streets, clashed with armed groups and killed alleged gangsters in what the terrorist group says is an attempt to restore law and order in areas where Israeli troops have withdrawn.
The show of force could threaten the truce now that all the living hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorist attack have been released.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the war will not end until Hamas has been dismantled, and 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.
Hamas has not fully accepted those terms, saying more negotiations are needed. It says it is willing to hand over power to other Palestinians but will not allow chaos to prevail during the transition. Israelis fear that as long as Hamas is armed, it will exercise influence in Gaza — and could rebuild its military capabilities — even if an independent body exercises nominal rule.
Trump said Tuesday that Hamas had taken out “a couple of gangs that were very bad,” and killed a number of gang members. “That didn’t bother me much, to be honest with you,” he said.
But he reiterated his demand for Hamas to lay down its arms, saying: “They will disarm, and if they don’t do so, we will disarm them, and it’ll happen quickly and perhaps violently.”
Hamas-linked Telegram channels said Hamas had targeted “collaborators and traitors” working with Israel.
The Hamas-run Sahm security force, which says it targets looters and other criminals, shared footage that appeared to show its forces killing eight people execution-style in the streets as people cheered. It said the detainees were gangsters.
Hossam al-Astal, the leader of an anti-Hamas militia in southern Gaza with apparent links to Israel, rejected the warning.
“To all the Hamas rats, your tunnels are destroyed, your rights don’t exist anymore. Repent before it is too late — there is no Hamas from today onward,” he wrote on Facebook.