According to a BBC report, Hamas has mobilized roughly 7,000 operatives from its military wing to restore its full control over the Gaza Strip. The group has reportedly appointed five new “governors” to lead Gaza’s five districts, a direct violation of earlier commitments to transfer authority to a neutral technocratic committee as part of the ceasefire framework.
Hamas has recalled around 7,000 members of its security forces to reassert control over areas of Gaza recently vacated by Israeli troops, according to local sources cited by the BBC. The Palestinian group has also appointed five new governors, all with military backgrounds, several of whom previously commanded brigades in its armed wing.
The mobilization order was reportedly sent via phone calls and text messages instructing members to report within 24 hours to “cleanse Gaza of outlaws and collaborators with Israel.” Armed Hamas units have since been seen deployed across multiple districts, some in civilian clothing and others in the blue uniforms of Gaza’s police.
Tensions escalated sharply after two members of Hamas’s elite forces were shot dead by gunmen from the powerful Dughmush clan in Gaza City’s Sabra neighbourhood. One of the victims was the son of a senior commander in Hamas’s military intelligence, Imad Aqel. Their bodies were left in the street, prompting outrage and fears of a major armed reprisal.
Hamas fighters later surrounded an area where over 300 Dughmush gunmen were believed to be holed up, armed with machine guns and improvised explosives. By morning, Hamas had killed one clan member and reportedly kidnapped another 30. Some of the clan’s weapons were believed to have been looted from Hamas depots during the war, while others were longstanding stockpiles. (Read More)
