Armed groups in Gaza rise up against Hamas

Palestinian sources say Hamas regards the rebellious families as an existential threat to its grip on Gaza City.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Hamas clashes with rival armed clans have plunged large parts of the Gaza Strip into renewed chaos, Palestinian sources say, as local families and armed groups fight open engagements with the terror group and each other.

The violence flared in several locations. In Beit Lahia, gunmen tied to Ashraf al-Mansi exchanged fire with Hamas fighters.

In the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City, fighting between the Dajmash clan and Hamas left Muhammad Imad Aql — the son of a senior Hamas military commander who had been killed earlier — dead, according to local accounts.

On Friday night, Hamas forces encircled the al-Dhamsha quarter in al-Sabra, prompting the evacuation of schools and residential towers as snipers and masked fighters took up positions across the district.

Palestinian sources say Hamas regards the rebellious families as an existential threat to its grip on Gaza City; during the war, the group executed the mukhtar of the Dajmash clan amid fears that Israel might seek local partners to challenge Hamas rule.

Hamas also dispatched senior terrorists in an apparent attempt to assassinate Yasser Abu Shabab, leader of a Rafah-based militia, but the bid reportedly failed.

In Khan Yunis, Hussam al-Astal, commander of an armed group opposed to Hamas, publicly lashed out at the organization on Facebook: “To all the Hamas rats, your tunnels are destroyed, your rights no longer exist. Repent before it’s too late — there is no Hamas from today onward,” he wrote.

Al-Astal said last week’s fighting began after Hamas allegedly tried to attack the al-Majaida clan and, he claimed, Hamas terrorists hid inside Nasser Hospital and a nearby mosque to fire rocket-propelled grenades at clan members.

He further asserted that an Israeli airstrike eliminated the cell and killed at least 22 terrorists; an IDF spokesperson confirmed the strike.

Hamas channels have since vowed reprisals, reporting plans to “settle accounts” with leaders they accuse of cooperating with Israel — naming Abu Shabab, al-Astal, Rami Khalas and al-Mansi among those targeted.

The rival groups, including Abu Shabab’s “Popular Forces,” operate primarily in areas that the first stage of the proposed ceasefire map leaves outside Israeli evacuation zones: eastern Rafah, parts of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanun, and eastern Khan Yunis.

Despite the threats, sources close to Abu Shabab say his forces remain defiant. A senior member declared, “Just as Hamas gave in under pressure and agreed to release hostages, so too will it eventually give up its heavy weapons.”

The statement, and the widening intra-Palestinian violence, demonstrate how fragile security in Gaza remains even as negotiators pursue a ceasefire framework.