Showing Their True Colors

As if the horrendous actions on October 7th of 2023 wasn’t proof enough, now that Hamas is in danger of losing power in Gaza they are giving us clear evidence they can never be allowed to stay in power as we see in a report from The Times Of Israel:

Hamas gunmen tightened their grip in Gaza on Monday and Tuesday, sources in the Strip said, including carrying out public executions. Hamas has killed at least 33 people since a ceasefire took effect on Friday in a crackdown on groups that have tested its grip, sources in the strip said, having apparently got a US nod to temporarily police the shattered enclave.

The terrorists are on a mission to eliminate all others in Gaza so they can take over:

In a stark assertion of the group’s return, fighters executed several men they accused of collaborating with Israeli forces. In one video circulated late on Monday, Hamas fighters dragged seven men into a circle of people in Gaza City, forced them to their knees and shot them from behind. A Hamas source confirmed the authenticity of the video.

Gazans immediately saw Hamas soldiers come out of the shadows once a ceasefire started:

Gaza residents said fighters were increasingly visible on Tuesday, deploying along routes needed for aid deliveries. Palestinian security sources say dozens of people have been killed in clashes between Hamas gunmen and rivals in recent days. Pummeled by Israel during the war ignited by the October 7, 2023, massacre that it led, Hamas has gradually sent its operatives back into the streets of Gaza since the ceasefire began, according to two security sources in the territory.

These terrorists apparently are free to fight now that they no longer have hostages to hold:

Reuters footage shows dozens of Hamas fighters lined up at a hospital in southern Gaza, one wearing a shoulder patch identifying him as a member of the elite “Shadow Unit” that Hamas sources say was tasked with holding hostages.

Hamas considers anyone against them as gangs and are killing them:

One of the Gaza sources, a security official, said that since the ceasefire, Hamas forces have killed 32 members of “a gang affiliated with a family in Gaza City,” while six of its personnel had also been killed.

Social media is abuzz with a video where it appears Hamas is publicly executing men:

Later on Monday, an execution video circulating on social media appeared to show several masked gunmen, some of them wearing green headbands resembling ones worn by Hamas, shooting with machine guns at least seven men after forcing them to kneel in the street. Posts identified the video as filmed in Gaza on Monday. Civilian spectators cheered “Allah Akbar,” or God is Great, and called those killed “collaborators.”

It Was Expected

Even before the deal was in place Hamas was killing people so this behavior isn’t new:

Last month, Hamas-led authorities said they executed three men accused of collaborating with Israel. The video of the public killing was shared on social media.

US President Trump seems to think this was going to happen and even intimated that he was approved of it which is troubling all by itself:

Trump’s plan foresees Hamas out of power in a demilitarized Gaza run by a Palestinian committee under international supervision. It calls for the deployment of an international stabilization mission that will train and support a Palestinian police force. But Trump, speaking on his way to the Middle East on Sunday, suggested Hamas had been given a temporary green light to police Gaza.

“They do want to stop the problems, and they’ve been open about it, and we gave them approval for a period of time,” he said, responding to a journalist’s question about reports that Hamas was shooting rivals and instituting itself as a police force.

“You have close to 2 million people going back to buildings that have been demolished, and a lot of bad things can happen. So we want it to be, we want it to be safe. I think it’s going to be fine. Who knows for sure,” Trump said.

Wouldn’t it have been better if the IDF stayed to keep the peace instead? I think so. But Israel made this mistake before and now Hamas feels the need to keep people safe if no one else will:

After the ceasefire took effect, Ismail Al-Thawabta, head of Hamas’s Gaza government media office, told Reuters the group would not allow a security vacuum and that it would maintain public safety and property.

Now they are making it tougher for Gazans to choose to be safe from others. And Hamas now won’t disarm until a Palestinian state is in place:

Hamas has ruled out any discussion of its arsenal, saying it would be ready to surrender its arms to a future Palestinian state. The group has said it seeks no role in Gaza’s future governing body, but that this should be agreed upon by Palestinians with no foreign control.

Turf Wars

Gaza has others who oppose Hamas and always did. Now they see an opportunity to overthrow them internally:

As the war dragged on, a diminished Hamas faced growing internal challenges to its control of Gaza from groups with which it has long been at odds, often affiliated with clans.

This report seems to blame Netanyahu for the infighting, but it is common to support people who share your goals so I hardly think news of Israel encouraging clans to oppose Hamas. The resistance parties are listed by the report:

In Gaza City, Hamas has mostly battled the Doghmosh clan, residents and Hamas sources said. The security official did not identify the “gang” who had been targeted in Gaza City, nor say whether it had been suspected of receiving support from Israel.

One leader who opposes Hamas has been doing it for some time now:

The most prominent anti-Hamas clan leader is Yasser Abu Shabab, who is based in the Rafah area, an area from which Israel has yet to withdraw. Offering attractive salaries, his group has recruited hundreds of fighters, a source close to Abu Shabab told Reuters earlier this year. Hamas calls him a collaborator with Israel, which he denies.

Hamas has him and his leaders in their sites:

The Gaza security official said that separate from the clashes in Gaza City, Hamas security forces had killed Abu Shabab’s “right-hand man” and efforts were underway to kill Abu Shabab himself. Abu Shabab did not immediately respond to questions on the official’s comments. Reuters could not immediately verify the claim that his aide had been killed.

Another group thinks Hamas is done leading:

Hussam al-Astal, another anti-Hamas figure based in Khan Younis in areas controlled by Israel, taunted the group in a video message on Sunday, saying that once it hands over the hostages, its role and rule in Gaza would be over.

Hamas still blames Israel for anyone resisting them and intends to use their role as security enforcers think it will buttress their claim to be a part of any new government in the area:

Palestinian analyst Reham Owda said Hamas’s actions aimed to deter groups that had collaborated with Israel and contributed to insecurity during the war. Hamas also aimed to show that its security officers should be part of a new government, though this would be rejected by Israel, she said.

As we see Hamas is far from disarming and is trying to change the narrative to one that makes them the logical choice for being a part of the New Gaza. Of course they fully know they agreed to disarm and leave Gaza so this is yet more of their propaganda tactics to remain in power. Expect more of these shenanigans along with the slow roll of releasing the bodies of Israelis they killed after kidnapping them. I pray that Trump and all those who are saying that Hamas needs to lay down their weapons and surrender take heed and not wait as more people are being murdered.