Hamas Crackdown on Gaza Threatens Fragile Truce

Hamas tightened its grip on Gaza’s devastated cities this week, clashing with armed groups and killing alleged gangsters in what the militant group described as an effort to restore law and order in areas where Israeli troops have withdrawn following last week’s US-brokered ceasefire, the Associated Press reported. 

Hamas posted a video showing eight blindfolded and kneeling suspects, branded as “collaborators and outlaws” working with Israel, being executed on the streets. The clips, reportedly from Monday night, surfaced amid armed clashes between Hamas’ various security units and Palestinian clans in part of the territory, Le Monde noted.  

Dozens of people were killed and others wounded over the weekend in gunfights between Hamas and fighters linked to the Doghmush family in the Sabra neighborhood in the south of the city, according to the New Arab. 

And in the days leading up to last Friday’s ceasefire, Hamas fighters reportedly clashed with members of the Al-Mujaida clan in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. 

Hamas’ moves, while celebrated by some Palestinians after months of chaos, could undermine the six-day-old truce now that all living hostages have been released.  

The US-proposed ceasefire requires Hamas to disarm and transfer power to an internationally supervised body that has yet to be formed. “If they don’t disarm, we will disarm them,” US President Donald Trump said this week, adding that the process could be quick and violent. 

However, Hamas has yet to fully accept the disarmament terms, arguing that more talks are needed. The group said that, while it is open to handing over power to other Palestinians, it does not want chaos to prevail in the process. It also argued that, while it is willing to surrender offensive weapons like rockets to a Palestinian or Arab body, it needs the small arms for protection. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the war will not end until Hamas has been disarmed, threatening the resumption of military operations. Israel worries that as the group remains armed, it will continue exercising influence in Gaza and could even regroup – even if an independent authority is formally in charge. 

Another threat to the ceasefire agreement is the requirement to return the remains of all Israeli hostages in Gaza. On Tuesday, Hamas handed over four bodies to Israel, following another four the day before. Hamas had previously said it was unable to retrieve all of the bodies by Monday’s deadline. 

However, the Israeli military said Wednesday that one set of remains returned by Hamas is not that of a hostage held in Gaza. 

In response, Israel on Wednesday threatened to keep shut a key border crossing from Egypt to Gaza and halve the amount of aid allowed to enter the enclave, NPR wrote. The Rafah crossing, closed since last year, is to reopen as part of the ceasefire deal. 

Still, aid trucks rolled into Gaza on Wednesday and Israel resumed preparations to open the Rafah crossing, Reuters reported early Thursday.