Violent clashes have erupted between Hamas and rival groups in several areas across Gaza, including an incident that culminated in an apparent public execution, as worries grow about the security situation following Israel’s withdrawal from parts of the territory.
Reports of violence have been shared widely on social media channels, with one particularly gruesome video showing a group of masked fighters, some of whom are wearing green Hamas headbands, killing eight blindfolded people in a square in Gaza City while large crowds are watching, a possible sign of the brutality Hamas is using to reassert itself as the security force.
CNN has verified the location where the video was filmed, the al Sabra neighborhood in western Gaza City, but it cannot independently confirm when the incident took place.
Video shows Hamas armed men dragging seven men into a circle of people in Gaza City, forcing them to their knees and executing them. – From Social Media/Reuters
However, it is likely the incident took place after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect, as Israeli troops were operating in the area before that. War-time damage to the buildings seen in the video suggests it has been filmed recently.
The detainees — all of whom appear to be adult men — are seen being dragged into the square, hands tied behind their backs. Some have been partially stripped and are barefooted.
Some of the fighters are seen forcefully hitting some of the prisoners as they are lined up to be executed. The fighters cheer after shooting the detainees.
The Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, a Palestinian NGO, described the incident as an “extrajudicial execution of citizens” and called for an investigation into the incident and for those responsible to be brought to justice.
The Hamas-affiliated security force Radaa said in the statement that it “conducted a precise operation in the center of Gaza City, resulting in the neutralization of several wanted individuals and outlaws.”
It did not provide any evidence.
Radaa said that it has taken control of positions in Gaza City and “conducted sweeps and arrests of individuals who participated in shootings, the killing of displaced persons, and attacks on civilians.”
CNN cannot independently confirm the identity of the fighters or the prisoners, but the video surfaced after days of reported clashes between Hamas fighters and the Doghmush family, a powerful clan based in al Sabra.
CNN previously reported that Hamas-affiliated Telegram channels said the violence started after a son of a senior Hamas military commander was killed.
Al-Mezan, the rights group, said it received reports that gunmen clashed with armed men from a local family in the Sabra and Tel al-Hawa neighborhoods in Gaza City after the ceasefire came into effect on Friday.
It said that according to the information it gathered, the attackers claimed they were trying to arrest a group of suspects.
“The clashes resulted in casualties among both the family members and the attacking force. After the arrest of several family members, the video showing the execution of several citizens was circulated widely on social media,” the center said, adding that no official statement from local authorities was released about the incident.
Radaa said in a statement on Monday that it was carrying “wide-ranging security operations resulting in the arrest of a large number of collaborators and individuals operating outside the law.”
In the statement, Radaa said it arrested a group of “lawless elements” who fired at security forces in central Gaza, and that it detained a number of people “implicated in cooperating with an armed militia and recruiting collaborators during the war” in southern Gaza.
A statement from the Doghmush Family said that it was “shocked by a distressing internal campaign targeting our innocent sons, involving killing, intimidation, torture, and burning of homes with their residents inside, without any justification and under false pretexts that bear no relation to reality.”
The family said that it lost some 600 members during this war and that the Israeli military launched a brutal campaign against the family after it “firmly and completely rejected all attempts by the occupation to win it over or recruit it to work on its behalf.”
“What is happening today is a heinous crime committed against a family known for its steadfastness, resolve, and rejection of all forms of collaboration and treachery,” the family said.
“We hold all those who participated in, contributed to, or remained silent about these crimes fully responsible before God and history.”
The video of the executions was widely shared online, including by the Israeli Foreign Ministry, which said the footage showed why Hamas “must go.”
“The terror group rules through fear – executing civilians, torturing dissenters, shooting those who dare protest. Palestinians seeking food or freedom are met with bullets, not compassion. It’s not resistance – It’s tyranny,” the ministry said.
The video surfaced after US President Donald Trump suggested that he gave an approval to Hamas to police the territory for “a period of time.”
Trump was asked about Hamas reasserting itself in Gaza following the ceasefire he helped to broker between the group and Israel as he was travelling to the Middle East on Monday.
“They do want to stop the problems. They’ve been open about it and we gave them approval for a period of time,” Trump said in response.
Israel has been pushing hard for the complete disarmament of Hamas to be included in the ceasefire agreement.
However, Trump’s 20-point peace plan, published last week, says that “Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty.”
Asked about Hamas on the Air Force One flight to the Middle east on Monday, Trump said the group was going to police the area for some time.
“They lost probably 60,000 people. That’s a lot of retribution,” he said. “You have close to 2 million people going back to buildings that have been demolished, and a lot of bad things can happen. So we want it to be safe. I think it’s gonna be fine … who knows for sure … but I think it’s gonna be fine.”
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