Hamas is trying to regain control of Gaza by force after the partial withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The militants of the Palestinian Islamist group intend to eliminate at gunpoint the “traitors” who have collaborated with Israeli troops during the war.
Witnesses claim that, since the ceasefire came into force, Hamas fighters have carried out public executions of members of other clans that compete for control of Gaza City and other areas of the Strip.
The Islamist movement does not hide it. One of the videos spread on social networks showed the execution of eight people. The victims appear kneeling, blindfolded, before being shot. “Long live the Al Qassam Brigades!” shouted the shooters afterwards, some of whom were dressed in bulletproof vests and the characteristic green Hamas ribbons.
Among those persecuted are members of the Dughmush clan, some of whom have ties to Jaysh al-Islam, a jihadist group that pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in 2015. Its leader, Mumtaz Dughmushfirst passed through the internal intelligence agency of the Palestinian National Authority and then through the Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, before breaking ties with its leadership.
The Dughmush clan has also been involved in smuggling activities across the border into Israel. For this reason, Hamas now appears to be pursuing a policy of extrajudicial executions and collective punishments. Without suffering the attacks of the Israeli Army, it is time to exact revenge.
Hamas fighters do not only attack members of the Dughmush clan. They are also pursuing members of other militias to which Israel has supplied weapons during the war, derived from the October 7 attacks.
One of the figures that Hamas has targeted is Yasser Abu Shababa gangster who leads the Popular Forces, an armed group that has its base of operations in Rafah, at the southern end of the Strip. An investigation of Sky News in early October uncovered the connections between Abu Shabab men and the various Israeli security agencies to sabotage Hamas’ territorial control.
“We strongly urge Hamas to immediately cease violence and shooting against innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” the head of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), Admiral Brad Cooperwhich claimed to have conveyed its concerns to the mediators of the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement.
President Trump justified & greenlit Hamas’s criminal thuggery in the Gaza Strip, dismissing their executions, tortures, kidnappings & intimidation, saying they had to take out gangs, comparing Gaza with Venezuela sending gangs to Washington, DC. He’s selling Gazans out to Hamas. pic.twitter.com/KrexMhotVL
— Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib (@afalkhatib) October 15, 2025
Donald Trump confirmed this Tuesday that Hamas had “killed several gang members,” but surprised everyone by saying that what happened did not bother him too much. “It’s okay. They’re a couple of very bad bands,” he concluded.
A day earlier, the US president had acknowledged that the Palestinian Islamist militia wanted to “stop the problems [en Gaza]and has been transparent about it. “We gave them approval for a while.”
Although he reiterated at the same time that Hamas was obliged to hand over the weapons “within a reasonable period of time” under what was agreed last week in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh. “They are going to disarm, because they said they would. And if they don’t, we will disarm them,” he stressed.
The tenant of the White House did not offer, in any case, any disarmament schedule. He did not even specify when the process should begin. End the war regardless of the outcome. The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahureaffirms, instead, that the offensive will not end until Hamas is completely dismantled.
The teacher Fawaz Gergesan expert in International Relations at the London School of Economics, explains that the United States and its allies have no choice but to allow Hamas to demonstrate its authority in Gaza if they want the truce to materialize.
“Without security, aid cannot be distributed. Without security, there can be no life,” says Gerges. “The Americans have realized that the only effective force is Hamas, and that is the irony.” Washington does not want a power vacuum.