Hamas Carries Out Security Campaign in Gaza, 32 People Killed After Ceasefire
A Gaza security official said on Tuesday that Hamas security forces have killed at least 32 people suspected of belonging to a local armed group in a wide-scale security campaign launched after the recent ceasefire took effect last Friday.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that the operation targeted “one of the armed groups affiliated with a known family in Gaza City” and resulted in the injury of about 30 others and the arrest of 24. He also noted that six security personnel were killed during the operation, which was described as “one of the largest security campaigns since the start of the war”.
The Gaza Interior Ministry, which is run by Hamas, said it had deployed its forces in several areas of the Gaza Strip as part of a security plan to prevent “a security vacuum or acts of chaos and looting”.
Social media platforms circulated a video showing masked gunmen, some wearing green headbands, firing assault rifles at a group of people forced to kneel in a street in Gaza City. The authenticity of the video and the identity of the gunmen could not be independently verified.
The US administration of President Donald Trump had previously called for the disarmament of Hamas as part of a plan to end the conflict in Gaza. However, reports cited Trump as saying that he would allow Hamas to carry out internal security operations to “prevent chaos”.
