In the tense aftermath of a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, the streets have become a battleground—not between Israel and Hamas, but among Palestinians themselves. As Israeli troops withdrew and a tenuous truce took hold, the militant group Hamas has launched a sweeping campaign to reassert its authority, targeting rival clans, militias, and those it accuses of collaborating with Israel. The result: a violent reckoning that has left dozens dead, reignited old feuds, and cast a shadow over hopes for a stable postwar Gaza.
On October 12, 2025, the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City erupted in chaos. According to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), Hamas militants raided the area, home to the influential Doghmush clan—a family with a long history of rivalry with the group. The confrontation escalated swiftly. By the end of the standoff, 52 members of the Doghmush clan and 12 Hamas militants lay dead, the latest casualties in a feud that has simmered for years.
The violence did not end there. The following day, a chilling video surfaced online, showing masked gunmen—some bearing the green headbands of Hamas—lining up eight captives in the open street. The men, forced to their knees and blindfolded, were executed at point-blank range as a crowd looked on. The New York Times geolocated the footage to Gaza City and confirmed with a Hamas internal security official that the executions were carried out by the group's fighters. Several of the slain were members of the Doghmush family, further inflaming tensions.
Hamas's "Sahem" (Arrow) Unit, a specialized force established by the group's Interior Ministry, has taken a leading role in these brutal crackdowns. According to FDD and reports from The Associated Press, the Sahem Unit has not only targeted the Doghmush clan but also moved against the Abu Samra family in Deir al-Balah, a group affiliated with the rival Fatah organization. Public executions have become a grim spectacle, with the Sahem Unit accused of carrying out several since the ceasefire began.
Hamas's campaign has not gone unanswered. Some clans, like the al-Majaida family in Khan Yunis, have issued public statements reaffirming their loyalty to the group and surrendering their weapons. The Doghmush clan, for its part, has attempted to distance itself from those accused of opposing Hamas, appealing to its own legacy within the Palestinian resistance. The Supreme Council for Palestinian Tribes in Gaza announced that “all tribes in Gaza stand in solidarity with the security forces to ensure stability and preserve the social fabric.” Its president, Husni Maghni, declared the tribes are “fully coordinating with the security forces in the Gaza Strip.”
Yet, the violence has left deep scars. Nizar Doghmosh, a leader of the Doghmush family, told The New York Times that the internal fighting began after Hamas accused his relatives of collaborating with Israel—a charge he vehemently denied. The clashes reached a fever pitch on Sunday, October 12, when, according to Gaza health officials, at least 24 bodies arrived at Al-Shifa hospital following a night of gun battles. Witnesses described a harrowing scene: Hamas fighters swept through neighborhoods, checking identity cards and ordering families to flee amid gunfire and explosions.
The crackdown extends beyond the Doghmush. Hamas's interior ministry has issued stern warnings to other rival groups, vowing to pursue “criminal gangs” that threaten “civil peace.” The ministry has even offered a weeklong amnesty: those not implicated in bloodshed can turn themselves in and have their records expunged. “No one will be allowed to undermine public security or the rights of citizens,” the ministry said in a statement, calling it “a final warning.”
For some Palestinians, the return of Hamas security forces to the streets has been a welcome change after months of lawlessness. Saeed Abu Elaish, a medic from the Jabaliya refugee camp, told AP he saw police back on patrol and considered it a first step toward restoring “some kind of normalcy and safety” after two years of ruinous war. Nahed Sheheiber, head of Gaza’s private truckers union, echoed this sentiment, saying Hamas was acting against gangs that “looted aid and killed people under the protection of the (Israeli) occupation.”
The power vacuum left by Hamas’s retreat during the war had been filled by powerful families and armed gangs, some of which, according to AP and The New York Times, received support from Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed in June 2025 that Israel had backed certain clans fighting Hamas, including arming a militia led by Yasser Abu Shabab in Rafah. These groups, accused by aid officials of ransacking humanitarian convoys, have complicated efforts to restore order. Mohammad al-Mansi, whose father leads a militia in northern Gaza, told The New York Times, “We are preparing to defend ourselves by any means necessary should Hamas attack. We won’t turn ourselves in. We would rather die.”
The United States has been watching closely. President Donald Trump, whose ceasefire plan calls for Hamas to disarm and transfer power to an internationally supervised body, has expressed mixed feelings about the group’s crackdown. “They’ve been open about it, and we gave them approval for a period of time,” Trump said after a recent visit to Israel. He later added, “Hamas had taken out a couple of gangs that were very bad. That didn’t bother me very much, to be honest.” Yet, Trump reiterated that Hamas must eventually lay down its arms: “They will disarm, and if they don’t do so, we will disarm them, and it’ll happen quickly and perhaps violently.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. military’s Central Command issued a statement urging Hamas to stop shooting at Palestinian civilians and conveyed its concerns to international mediators. Israeli officials, for their part, have warned that the war will not end until Hamas is dismantled. The group’s refusal to relinquish its weapons and authority remains a major obstacle to any lasting peace.
Despite the devastation wrought by two years of war—including the loss of many top commanders and thousands of fighters—Hamas has managed to redeploy approximately 7,000 militants, according to FDD. The group remains, for now, the most capable force in Gaza, with more soldiers and weapons than all its rivals combined. Military analysts cited by The New York Times suggest that while smaller militias have yet to mount a serious challenge, Hamas’s campaign of violence may soon expand to target these groups as well.
Human rights organizations, including the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights, have condemned the extrajudicial killings carried out by Hamas. The Doghmush family, after initially distancing itself from the accused gang, ultimately condemned Hamas’s response, stating there was no need for “this brutality.”
As Gaza’s future hangs in the balance, the struggle for power continues to unfold in the streets. The fate of the ceasefire—and the prospects for a peaceful transition—will depend on whether Hamas can be persuaded, or forced, to relinquish its iron grip. For now, the guns have not fallen silent, and the path to stability remains perilous and uncertain.
