Internecine Fighting Erupts at Gaza as Hamas, Clans Turn Their Animosity for Israel Toward Each Other
Dozens of tribal members are killed as Hamas tries to reclaim authority following Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza City.
While international negotiators finalize a hostage-prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel, Gaza is anything but peaceful amid internecine fighting between Hamas and Palestinian clans that Hamas considers rivals for power or traitors to its cause.
Over the weekend, at least 19 and as many as 25 members of the Dughmush clan, a powerful, mafia-like family based in the eastern part of Gaza City, were reportedly murdered after its members clashed with Hamas leaders following the ceasefire agreement with Israel.
A Gaza analyst with the European Council on Foreign Relations, Muhamed Shehada, said that clashes started after a Hamas fighter, Mohammed Aqel, was allegedly killed by members of the Dughmush family, who stole his phone and money before interrogating and murdering him.
Other sources report that shooting began when more than 300 Hamas fighters, among 7,000 Hamas fighters ordered to return to duty to “cleanse Gaza of outlaws and collaborators with Israel,” arrived in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood to confront the clan.
Hamas forces tried to evict members of the family from the Jordanian Hospital where they had been living since Israeli Defense Forces destroyed the Sabra neighborhood, the group’s home base. Hamas reportedly wanted the hospital to establish a new barracks for its forces.
“Hamas militants entered the Al-Daghmoush area using ambulances, just as the occupation does, under the pretext of evacuating the wounded,” a family member, Mohamed Mansour Dughmush, wrote on Facebook. “They kidnapped 25 young men from the Al-Daghmoush family. The fire and explosion are still ongoing and have spread to the remaining homes. What Hamas is doing is aggression and treason. Dozens of armed individuals are kidnapping members of the family.”
Dughmush is one of many clans that has staked out a fiefdom in Gaza since Hamas captured power in 2007, but the weekend’s fighting is among the most violent in years.
Known for its smuggling network, the Dughmush clan was blamed for the theft of thousands of pounds of food aid deliveries during the last two years of war even as Hamas grabbed convoy trucks to extract a tax from drivers. Hamas has warned Dughmush, whom it accuses of being an intelligence plant for Israel, and other groups that it will deliver retribution to any groups participating in “armed activity outside the framework of the resistance.”
As world leaders prepare to gather Monday in Egypt to find a way forward in Gaza without Hamas, the terror group is quickly regrouping and re-arming. Hamas reportedly has appointed five new governors from its military and intelligence departments and has ordered armed and uniformed units to establish checkpoints and patrols.
Hamas isn’t just targeting one clan, but also retaliating against others, including the al-Rais, Abu Warda and Al-Mujaida families. A collective condemnation issued by tribal leaders on Sunday urged Hamas to “fully assume its responsibilities and immediately put an end to the state of security lawlessness.”
“The violence and bloodshed taking place only serve the enemies of our people and come at a sensitive stage following the ceasefire, a stage that requires national and popular solidarity to maintain the security and stability of the community,” wrote the group, according to Gaza activist Hamza al-Masry, who said claims of a kidnapping of the Hamas militant was a pretext for the attack.
Mr. Masry also confirmed that the social media influencer and Hamas supporter, Saleh Al Jafarawi, known as Mr. FAFO and notorious for using repeated images of slain children in a variety of locations to report on the war in Gaza, was killed over the weekend. While the Dughmush clan has been blamed by Hamas, no confirmation of an assailant has been given.
