Seven hooded males are pressured to kneel in a Gaza road and are shot within the head at shut vary as a crowd seems on. In one other clip, a sure man is pinned to the bottom. Attackers stretch out his legs, strike the facet of every knee with an axe, launch the zip ties, then smash his arms and palms with a steel pipe earlier than breaking his knees. That is Gaza as we speak.
Hours after the ultimate Israeli hostages have been launched beneath a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, Hamas gunmen executed greater than 30 Palestinians throughout a number of neighborhoods. These killed have been accused of spying for Israel or belonging to rival armed teams. Movies circulating on-line present masked fighters forcing males to kneel earlier than killing them at shut vary whereas onlookers chant.
Witnesses mentioned detainees have been crushed earlier than being executed, as movies confirmed gunmen cheering afterward. Palestinian human rights organizations condemned the killings as grave crimes and violations of human rights, whereas Hamas-aligned factions defended them as a part of a “safety marketing campaign” concentrating on alleged collaborators and criminals.
Hamas’s inner safety unit, Radaa, claimed duty, saying these executed have been “wished people” accused of working with Israel and different offenses. The group introduced a broader crackdown throughout Gaza, arresting opponents and reestablishing its management.
The highly effective Doghmush household accused Hamas of massacring a minimum of 28 of its members after granting them protected conduct to give up, calling the killings unjustified and prison. Regardless of worldwide outrage, Hamas continues to implement its rule by means of worry and violence. The executions are a part of a wider marketing campaign to reassert authority after months of Israeli navy stress.
Fighters from the Qassam Brigades have returned to the streets to police key routes and confront rivals, with residents reporting clashes between Hamas forces and native clans such because the Doghmush community.
In accordance with native media and residents, mounting deaths and deprivation eroded Hamas’s assist in Gaza this yr. Many Gazans, talking on situation of anonymity, say they really feel betrayed by the group and are nonetheless struggling to grasp what their lives have turn into since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 assault on Israel.
One resident from a refugee camp in central Gaza mentioned the territory had turn into a dwelling hell and that Hamas had led its folks into it. He defined that nothing remained, that folks had misplaced all the things, and questioned what it had all been for. Others described Hamas leaders as liars, calling October 7 a darkish day and blaming the group for the destruction throughout Gaza. Many estimate that tens of hundreds of Gazans have been killed and that the majority survivors have misplaced almost all the things they owned.
All through 2025, anti-Hamas protests erupted throughout the Gaza Strip, prompting violent crackdowns. Studies point out that demonstrators have been publicly flogged, kidnapped, some nonetheless lacking, and, in a number of circumstances, executed. One broadly cited incident concerned 22-year-old Oday Nasser Al-Rabay, who was allegedly kidnapped, tortured, and killed after becoming a member of protests in March. In one other case the next month, gunmen tried to drive an aged man to allow them to launch rockets from his residence; when he and his neighbors refused, the attackers opened hearth, wounding a number of folks.
On the similar time, Hamas operatives have reappeared on Gaza’s streets to reassert management, with fighters from the Qassam Brigades policing key routes and transferring towards rivals. Residents and native sources report gunmen taking pictures suspected collaborators within the leg and looking members of anti-Hamas factions related to figures equivalent to Yasser Abu Shabab, Hussam al-Astal, and Ashraf al-Mansi. Two of those militias have largely gone quiet, whereas a 3rd has confronted arrests and killings in Jabaliya. Inner safety and intelligence items are mentioned to be concentrating on opponents in areas vacated by Israeli forces.
Many Gazans now worry a renewed period of terror and coercion. Some acknowledge that, for the second, Hamas stays the one group able to clearing rubble, regulating markets, and directing site visitors. Others, nevertheless, say the group will cling to energy at any value, turning its drive inward towards the very folks it claims to guard.
The crackdown coincides with statements that Hamas has non permanent approval to handle inner safety under the ceasefire. On the similar time, restricted Israeli drone hearth and airstrikes have continued in particular incidents, underscoring the fragility of the truce. Palestinian Authority figures have condemned the killings as heinous crimes.
The bigger questions stay unresolved. Hamas has not agreed to disarm, and the long run governance of Gaza continues to be unclear. For now, the group is popping its weapons inward, towards the very folks it claims to defend. The ceasefire went into impact on October 10, 2025.
Opinion polling reveals that Hamas’s approval in Gaza dropped to 57% in 2025. This is sensible, provided that the most important demographic of victims of political Islam and jihadist militants are Muslims, kids, households, moms, and fathers, who merely need peace like anybody else. This was true of ISIS, al-Qaeda, and the Taliban, and it stays true of Hamas.
One worrying concern, nevertheless, is that regardless of the devastation Hamas has induced, if assist actually stays at 57%, that also represents greater than half of Gazans. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to not permit both Hamas or the Palestinian Authority to manipulate Gaza as soon as the battle is over, whereas Hamas continues to insist it won’t disarm. The way forward for the Strip stays unsure because the ceasefire’s subsequent part, and the query of who will rule Gaza, hangs within the stability.
