CAIRO (AP) — as Gaza ceasefire Hamas security forces returned to the streets, clashing with insurgents and killing an alleged gangster in what the insurgents say is an attempt to restore law and order in areas where Israeli forces have withdrawn.
After months of irregularities, the show of force welcomed by some Palestinians could now threaten a ceasefire. all living hostages Video taken during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 has been released.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said the war will not end until Hamas is dismantled. President Donald Trump’s Ceasefire Plan It calls on Hamas to disarm and transfer power to an internationally supervised organization that has not yet been established.
Hamas does not fully accept these terms and insists further negotiations are necessary. It says it is ready to hand over power to other Palestinians, but will not allow chaos to prevail during the transition period. Israelis fear Hamas will exercise influence in Gaza as long as it is armed. And we will be able to rebuild our military power. Even if an independent body enforces nominal rules.
President Trump said Tuesday that Hamas has taken out “some very bad gangs” and killed numerous gang members. “To be honest, it didn’t really bother me,” he said.
But he reiterated his call for Hamas to lay down its arms, saying: “They will disarm. If they don’t, we will disarm. And it will be done quickly and probably violently.”
security breakdown
Hamas-run police have maintained a high level of security since the militant group seized power in Gaza 18 years ago, while also cracking down on opposition. Much of it has been wiped out in recent months as Israeli forces have occupied large swathes of Gaza and targeted Hamas security forces with airstrikes.
Local powerful families and armed groups — Including some anti-Hamas factions supported by Israel — I stepped into the void. many people have been accused Hijacking humanitarian aid supplies and selling them for profit, contributing to the Gaza Strip hunger crisis.
Nahed Shehaiver, head of Gaza’s civilian truck drivers’ union, said Hamas was acting against gangs that terrorized people in Israeli-controlled areas.
“These gangs looted aid and killed people under (Israeli) occupied protection,” he told The Associated Press, adding they were operating in the so-called red zone where Israel has ordered people to evacuate. The Israeli military did not respond to requests for comment.
Hamas-led fighters clashed with the powerful Domsh family militant group in Gaza City over the weekend, following the killing of Hamas militant Mohammed Aqel on Friday.
Aquel’s family said in a statement that militiamen kidnapped, robbed and killed him. Another Al Muqaid family member said the gang ambushed and robbed five members as they returned to their homes, killing one and leaving another in intensive care.
The gang, led by Hassam Domush, is known for looting aid convoys and ransacking vacant houses in areas controlled by the Israeli army, said residents in the area, who asked not to be named due to security concerns. They said Domush was among about 20 people killed in clashes with Hamas, including a local journalist and the son of a senior Hamas official based on the outskirts of Gaza.
A Hamas-affiliated Telegram channel reported that Hamas was targeting “collaborators and traitors” working with Israel. The Hamas-run Sam’a security forces said they were targeting looters and other criminals, and shared footage that appeared to show them executing eight people in the street as people cheered. The detainee was said to be a gang member.
The Gaza-based Almezan Human Rights Center and the Palestinian Independent Human Rights Commission condemned the extrajudicial killings by Hamas.
The Domush family initially denounced the gang and distanced themselves from it. Two days later, the country issued a new statement condemning Hamas’s response, saying “such atrocities” were unnecessary.
The first step towards normalization
Saeed Abu Elaish, a medic from the northern Jabaliya refugee camp who took refuge in central Gaza last month, said he has seen police return to the streets and welcomed it as a step towards restoring “some kind of normalcy and security” after two years of devastating war.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has threatened to resume military operations if Hamas is not peacefully disarmed.
The Hamas-run Interior Ministry announced a one-week amnesty for gang members not involved in the bloodshed, allowing them to turn themselves in and have their records expunged. Those who do not comply will be arrested and prosecuted, the newspaper said.
“No one will be allowed to violate public safety or the rights of the people,” the ministry said in a statement, calling it a “final warning.”
Hossam al-Astar, the leader of an anti-Hamas militia in southern Gaza with clear ties to Israel, rejected the warning.
“Hamas rats, the tunnels are destroyed and your rights no longer exist. Repent before it’s too late. From today on, Hamas no longer exists,” he wrote on Facebook.
Al-Astar, who was imprisoned by Hamas on drug smuggling charges before the war, founded an armed group that operates in Israeli-controlled territory late last year. He is believed to have teamed up with Yasser Abu Shabaab, who leads a similar armed group in the Israeli-controlled southern city of Rafah, which has a history of looting aid convoys.
Israel admitted to supporting Abu Shabab and others While opposing Hamas, it denied any involvement in aid looting.
The presence of such groups could complicate talks on disarming Hamas. The militants have expressed a willingness to hand over rockets and other offensive weapons to Palestinians and Arab groups, but say they need lighter weapons such as assault rifles to protect themselves, Arab officials said on condition of anonymity to discuss delicate ceasefire negotiations.
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Krauss reported from Ottawa, Ontario.
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