Stabilization force yet to be born, jihadists warn those who want a role in Gaza's future
The international stabilization force has yet to be born, and Hamas, predictably, has moved on the ground, taking up positions in the Strip, from north to south. A swift, determined, and ferocious action. It was carried out by the movement's police officers, the Arrow Unit and the Shadow Unit.
Dozens of victims in attacks against enemy units. The Shadow Unit militiamen donned their camouflage again, took out their green sashes, and unsheathed their weapons. Yesterday they divided the tasks. Once the hostages were handed over, as they had done in the past with greater propaganda emphasis, they turned their attention to internal adversaries.
The Doghmoush family was targeted in the Gaza City sector, once an ally of Hamas and an umbrella for other groups in the rest of the Strip. Unofficial reports speak of firefights, people eliminated, and a manhunt. Hamas reaffirms its role as the dominant power, holds the territory, and tries to eliminate pockets of resistance represented by some historic or recent clans. In addition to the Doghmoush, whose leader Mumtaz is hiding somewhere, the followers of Hussam al Astal and Yasser Abu Shabab, small groups formed with the help of Israel and which count on 400 armed men, are also in the line of fire.
The list of targets then includes collaborators, real or presumed, hunted by affiliates of Arrow, founded precisely for this purpose. The cold-blooded killings, the videos, the bodies left in the street are a warning. To those who have gotten involved—thus old unfinished business—and to those who might think they can carve out a space for themselves, perhaps a limited one, in the future when and if the plan conceived by Donald Trump with the regional mediators is actually implemented.
It is an era of potential change, of new relationships and balances, of outside interference. The reappearance of the shadows, of the men masked with Mephisto, is a given. They have been trained for special tasks, particular missions, to respect orders in a reality where rules often do not exist and are determined by the circumstances of the moment.
The Unit, according to Arab sources, was created in 2006 after the capture of Israeli soldier Shalit. It was the idea of the political leadership and the leader of the al-Qassam Brigades, Mohammed Deif, later killed during the recent conflict. They wanted to have trusted fighters, drawn from intelligence, from elite units, and from certain locations deemed more in tune with the movement's ideals. Among these was Khan Younis. An operation repeated by the Interior Ministry with the Arrow. For this reason, they received adequate training, the best equipment, and privileged treatment compared to ordinary guerrillas.
The high level of leadership has inevitably turned Shadow into a primary target for Israel, and numerous leaders have reportedly been hit by the raids. These losses are accompanied by the usual secrecy, the same secrecy used to conceal—at least for a time—their activities. The secrecy surrounding a handful of fighters increases their fame and prestige, sometimes outweighing their actual merits. Now, however, they are needed on the streets. The faction has verbally accepted the American proposal and would therefore accept a technical government in Gaza. However, this is a scenario that must materialize; we are at the draft stage, at the stage of declarations of intent. For Hamas, the ideal conditions exist to assert its facts, its muscles, and its relevance in Palestinian society.
On the other hand, Israel sees this situation as a violation, while the US president, at least until Monday, seemed to tolerate the mujahideen's raids. They were considered inevitable adjustments in a period of emptiness that, however, no one can say when will end. Trump then corrected his judgment, ordering Hamas to hand over its weapons, otherwise he threatened direct intervention.
