Reports of Internal Fighting: Are Palestinians Getting Sick of Hamas?

AP Photo/Khalil Hamra

Some interesting reports coming out of Gaza indicate that Hamas launched an attack on a local Palestinian clan in the city of Khan Younis, accusing them of collaborating with Israel. The clan fought back and wound up killing a bunch of Hamas fighters.

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The southern Gaza city of Khan Younis has witnessed one of the fiercest internal confrontations since the war began, between a Hamas security force and gunmen from the al-Mujaida clan - one of the largest families in the south.

According to Hamas, its forces raided the neighbourhood to detain individuals accused of collaborating with Israel.

Local accounts, however, described an armed assault by about 50 men riding in five pickup trucks, armed with assault rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher, who stormed the al-Mujaida quarter and killed five members of the family...

Reports circulating on social media – difficult to independently verify – claim that more than 11 Hamas members were killed, with some of their bodies dragged through the streets.

Ahmed Al Khatib runs a group called Realign for Palestine which supports the Trump peace plan. He has posted several videos about the fighting, some of which are really too gruesome to repost here. But here's a bit of what he says.

An estimated 100 Hamas al-Qassam Brigade terrorists in pick-up trucks attacked the al-Majayda Clan in Khan Younis with heavy weapons, RPGs & explosives, seeking to apprehend someone they accused of being an Israeli "collaborator." Instead, their attack was repelled, foiled & ferociously resisted by the Clan's members, who killed an estimated three dozen Qassam operatives. The terrorists hit homes with women and children in them and came as if they were launching another October 7-style attack against their own people. The valiant resistance of the people of Gaza against Hamas's militias proves one thing: the terror group can only be sustainably defeated by Palestinians. Some women came out around the piles of Hamas bodies and decried the cowardice of these terrorists.

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Some video of the fighting. You can't see much but you can hear shots being fired.

More video of the fighting.

It was apparently a lopsided victory for the clan over Hamas.

More footage of dead al-Qassam Brigade terrorists from Hamas who were part of today's clashes with the Al-Majayda Clan in Khan Younis, during which 33 Hamas operatives were killed & the assault against the family was repelled & foiled. The family sustained ~7 casualties

The Hamas militants left behind documents outlining the planning for the attack. This is very similar to their plans to attack Israel on 10/7 except here they are attacking Palestinians.

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Gabriel Epstein is a policy associate at the Israel Policy Forum. He posted a long thread analyzing what happened and what it means for Hamas.

This Hamas operation was aimed at killing one person who had killed two Hamas members. They succeeded in killing him but claim the clan then called in an Israeli airstrike which was responsible for Hamas' losses in the fight. Hamas is now vowing revenge and to behead everyone responsible.

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We're probably not going to see a grand uprising against Hamas in which clans unite to end them, but the skirmishes are proof that Hamas is weakening and its ability to control the territory now comes down to their brutality and threats (like the one above).

As usual in these situations, there is no George Washington waiting in the wings. If Hamas falls, there are lots of similar militant groups who will rush in to fill the power vacuum. Controlling this chaos will not be easy. Even if Hamas is wiped out, peace in Gaza is unlikely to prevail.

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Anyway, I think this does provide another explanation for why Hamas is not going to agree to disarm as demanded by the US peace plan. They maintain their power through threats and violence. Any signs of weakness and they would be eaten alive by the rival clans and militant groups they have been threatening and controlling for years. They may get an offer of amnesty from Israel but they won't get one from these other clans.

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