Hamas, which has been severely weakened since the ceasefire with Israel, has been trying to reassert its grip on the Gaza Strip. Its members have killed at least 33 people in recent days in attacks against groups testing the movement's control over the war-torn Palestinian territory. Hamas appears to have tacit approval from the United States to temporarily police Gaza, Reuters reported.

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Hamas begins liquidating opponents and"traitors"

Hamas has faced two years of heavy Israeli strikes since its October 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel. But since a ceasefire came into effect last Friday, the movement has been slowly sending its men back onto the streets, treading carefully in case the truce suddenly collapses, two security sources in Gaza told Reuters.

Hamas deployed members of its military wing, the Qassam Brigades, on Monday to release the last remaining hostages kidnapped from Israel two years ago, highlighting one of the main challenges facing US President Donald Trump in his efforts to secure a lasting peace deal for Gaza. The United States, Israel and many other countries have demanded that Hamas lay down its arms.

Reuters footage shows dozens of Hamas fighters lined up outside a hospital in the southern Gaza Strip. One of them wears a shoulder patch identifying him as a member of an elite"shadow unit" that Hamas sources say was tasked with guarding hostages.

One of two security sources in Gaza told Reuters that Hamas forces had killed 32 members of a"gang linked to a single family in Gaza City" since the ceasefire, and six members of the movement were also killed.

A video emerged on social media on Monday afternoon showing several masked gunmen, some wearing green Hamas headbands, firing automatic weapons at at least seven men who were forced to kneel in the street. Comments said the video was filmed in Gaza on Monday. Civilians watching the execution chanted"God is great" and called those killed "collaborators."

Hamas Terrorist Attack on Music Festival Attendees in Israel on October 7, 2023

Archive video

Reuters said it could not immediately verify the events depicted, the time or location of the video. Hamas did not immediately comment. Last month, however, Hamas-led authorities announced that they had executed three men accused of collaborating with Israel. A video of that public execution also circulated on social media.

Trump's plan calls for Hamas to cede power in a demilitarized Gaza, which would be run by a Palestinian committee under international supervision. The plan also calls for an international stabilization mission to train and support Palestinian police forces.

But on a trip to the Middle East, Trump indicated that Hamas had been given a temporary green light to police Gaza."They want to stop the trouble, they've been saying it openly, and we've given them permission for a while," Trump said when asked by a reporter about reports that Hamas was executing its opponents and establishing itself as a police force.

When the ceasefire came into effect, Hamas's government spokesman in Gaza, Ismail Thawba, told Reuters that the group would not allow a security vacuum and intended to oversee public safety and property.

Hamas, meanwhile, rejects the debate about its own disarmament, saying it would only be willing to hand over its weapons to a future Palestinian state. The group also says it is not seeking a role in Gaza's future governing body, which should be agreed upon by the Palestinians themselves, without foreign interference.

The weakened Hamas government in Gaza has been increasingly threatened by groups with which it has long-standing rivalries, often linked to family clans, during the long-running war with Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this year that Israel was arming clans that oppose Hamas, without naming them.

In Gaza City, Hamas is fighting mainly with the Dughmush clan, residents and movement sources say. The"gang" targeted in the latest Hamas attack in Gaza was not identified by a security source, Reuters reported, or whether it is suspected of being backed by Israel.

The most prominent leader of the clan that is fighting Hamas is Yasser Abu Shabab. He is based in Rafah, an area in the south of the Strip from which Israel has not yet withdrawn. His militia offers attractive salaries and has recruited hundreds of fighters, a source close to Abu Shabab told Reuters. Hamas calls him a collaborator with Israel, a claim Abu Shabab denies. A security official told Reuters that, independently of the clashes in Gaza, Hamas security forces had killed Abu Shabab's"right-hand man" and that Hamas was now seeking to kill the leader himself.

Husam Astal, another Hamas opponent from the city of Khan Yunis, which is also still under the control of the Israeli army, mocked the movement in a video on Sunday, saying that as soon as it releases the hostages, its tasks and government in Gaza will end.

Analysts say Hamas is trying to deter groups that collaborated with Israel during the war and worsened the security situation in Gaza. Hamas also wants to prove that its security officials should participate in the new government, no matter how much Israel refuses to allow it.