Hamas appears to be preparing to exact vengeance on those opposed to its rule in Gaza. This will come in the form of mafia-like murders of those Hamas claims are “collaborators.” It will target clans and groups that have shown opposition to Hamas. It will also target those that have worked with Israel, or who it accuses of working with Israel.
A Telegram channel linked to Hamas said the group would target “collaborators.”
The BBC reported that Hamas has called up some 7,000 fighters to assert its control. Hamas recruited during the war even as it took losses. It may have lost many of its commanders, but it has appointed new commanders to various cells, platoons, companies, battalions and brigades.
The BBC reported that “Hamas recalls 7,000 fighters to reassert control over Gaza as fears of renewed internal violence emerge following the withdrawal of Israeli forces. The mobilisation has been widely anticipated as uncertainty grows about who will govern Gaza once the war ends - this is a key sticking point for later phases of Trump's plan.”
Hamas has long used mafia-like gangland tactics to keep people in check in Gaza. This goes back to how the group emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Hamas leaders such as Yahya Sinwar were known for brutally murdering “collaborators” back then. Sinwar is dead but his tactics live on. Hamas has lost a lot of its larger weapons but it retains AK-47s and can use them to murder people. Videos have already emerged of Hamas allegedly murdering people.
The brutality of the organization has also been revealed in a New York Times article that shows how Sinwar and Hamas planned to murder Israelis and burn communities on October 7.
Khaled Abu Toameh, an expert and journalist who has covered Palestinian affairs for decades, wrote on social media that “Hamas security forces have arrested dozens of suspected collaborators and anti-Hamas clan members since the ceasefire went into effect. Many are expected to be executed, according to Palestinian sources.”
As Hamas threatens to eliminate any opposition in Gaza, the groups that emerged during the war to challenge Hamas are eying the future. The Telegraph reported this weekend that “In an exclusive interview, Hossam al-Astal describes how he and others who hate the terror group await moment to liberate Gaza.”
Astal leads a group opposed to Hamas. In the interview he said he would work with Tony Blair, whose name has circulated as one of those who may play a role in the Trump-backed Board of Peace for Gaza.
Hamas likely also has its sights on the Doghmush clan whose members it has killed in the past. The clan is large and has weapons, and Hamas will try to keep it in check via violence but also likely via talks. BBC reported on October 11 thagt “tensions rose sharply and quickly 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 them was the son of a senior commander in Hamas's armed wing, Imad Aqel, who now heads the group's military intelligence.”
Another group that Hamas will want to target are any of those linked to Yasser Abu Shabab, who formed a militia in southern Gaza. He is linked to Bedouin families and Hamas may target members of Bedouin tribes accused of working with Israel.
Israel’s Ynet noted that “amid the emerging cease-fire deal with Hamas, under which 48 hostages held in Gaza are expected to be released in the coming days, a senior Israeli security official on Thursday called to ‘act now’ to protect the Gaza clans that fought against Hamas during the war. ‘We must not abandon them to Hamas,’ he said.” The New Arab has asked what will happen to those groups that worked with Israel and The Guardian has made it appear that those groups could harm the current peace deal.
Targeting the Mujaida clan
In early October, Hamas also targeted a neighborhood where the Mujaida clan lives. A number of people were killed. “The southern Gaza city of Khan Younis has witnessed one of the fiercest internal confrontations since the war began, between a Hamas security force and gunmen from the al-Mujaida clan - one of the largest families in the south,” the BBC noted.
Hamas will want to settle scores and also show that it is still in control. Hamas will not remain in the shadows, it is already deploying men with AK-47s in areas of Gaza. It will want to show that it still has a mafia-like grip on power. It won’t want any of the various clans, tribes and militias to get any ideas. It will want to cement itself in power before any new interim administration is appointed. Then it will hand a fait accompli to anyone who thinks they can remove Hamas from Gaza.