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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://mondoweiss.net/2026/05/exclusive-inside-hamass-fight-against-the-armed-militias-that-israel-is-using-to-sow-chaos-in-gaza/?ml_recipient=186356405207303582&ml_link=186356350928815421&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=2026-05-02&utm_campaign=Daily+Headlines+RSS+Automation+-+8am">mondoweiss.net</a>
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Exclusive: Inside Hamas\u2019s fight against the armed militias that Israel is using to sow chaos in Gaza</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Faris Giacaman</div>
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<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time">May 1, 2026</div>
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<img src="cid:ii_mooevt0u0" alt="image.png" width="558" height="372"><br><p>
<font size="1">The National Gathering of Palestinian Tribes, Clans, and Families
organized a demonstration in Gaza protesting the Israeli army\u2019s ongoing
targeting of Palestinian police officers, Gaza City, April 19, 2026.
(Photo: Anas Nour/APA Images) </font></p><p>On Monday, April 20, a convoy of vehicles rolled through Khan Younis
in southern Gaza, carrying armed, masked men. They belonged to an
Israeli-backed militia that typically operates in the part of Gaza that
falls under Israeli military control, east of the so-called \u201c<a href="https://mondoweiss.net/2025/11/theres-a-yellow-line-dividing-gaza-is-it-here-to-stay/">Yellow Line</a>\u201d that cuts Gaza roughly in half. Their appearance in the part of Khan Younis under Hamas control was a direct provocation. </p>
<p>In a widely-circulated <a href="https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=122213425496516093&id=61565482817230&mibextid=wwXIfr&rdid=VzgINio2auCQxoRh&share_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fshare%2Fr%2F1YmFRMZL4z%2F%3Fmibextid%3DwwXIfr">video</a>
on social media, one of the gunmen stepped out and addressed the crowd.
\u201cHamas is over. We are the people, and the people are us; we will
protect you from Hamas terrorism.\u201d</p>
<p>The incursion did not go unanswered. Hamas security forces appeared
and fired shells and heavy gunfire at the vehicles as intense clashes
broke out, according to <a href="https://fb.watch/GNNzqWoSpA/">videos</a>
circulated on social media. A Hamas-affiliated Telegram channel called
Radea, which emerged in 2025 to track and pursue collaborators,
described the response to the incursion as an ambush. </p>
<blockquote><p>These groups are part of a broader Israeli
strategy that Gaza security officers say they\u2019ve been confronting since
the beginning of the war: the systematic targeting of police and
security personnel to create a vacuum that the militias can fill. </p></blockquote>
<p>\u201cWhen the right moment came, Radea fighters opened fire on the
collaborators\u2019 vehicles, directly striking the first vehicle and then
targeting the second and third, leaving them dead and wounded, while the
others fled under the cover of enemy aircraft,\u201d the channel stated.
\u201cIsrael will not protect you. Our fighters are lying in wait for you.\u201d</p>
<p>The incursion came one day after Ghassan al-Duheini, head of the
Israeli-armed \u201cPopular Forces\u201d group, announced on his Facebook page the
launching of what he called Operation Deter the Aggressors. The Popular
Forces were previously led by gang leader and Israeli collaborator
Yasser Abu Shabab before he was <a href="https://mondoweiss.net/2025/12/gaza-gang-leader-and-israeli-collaborator-yasser-abu-shabab-has-been-killed-reports-say/">reportedly killed</a> by his own associates last December. Hamas government officials <a href="https://mondoweiss.net/2025/10/hamas-is-hunting-down-groups-in-gaza-that-collaborated-with-the-israeli-army-one-by-one/">previously told <em>Mondoweiss</em></a> that the group is the largest, best-equipped, and most dangerous militia operating in Gaza.</p>
<p>Today, most of these groups operate in the eastern sectors of Gaza
that fall under Israeli military control. These include al-Duheini\u2019s
Popular Forces in Rafah and Khan Younis, Hussam al-Astal\u2019s \u201cAnti-Terror
Strike Force,\u201d and the so-called \u201cPopular Defense Forces\u201d led by Rami
Hilles in Gaza City\u2019s Shuja\u2019iyya neighborhood. Hilles and Astal are
reportedly both former employees of the Palestinian Authority\u2019s security
forces.</p>
<p>The existence of these groups is part of a broader Israeli strategy
that Gaza security officers say they\u2019ve been confronting since the
beginning of the war: the <a href="https://mondoweiss.net/2025/05/israel-is-creating-a-power-vacuum-in-gaza-by-backing-armed-looters-and-killing-anyone-who-tries-to-stop-them/">systematic targeting of police and security personnel</a> to create a vacuum that the militias can fill. </p>
<p><em>Mondoweiss</em> spoke with several Hamas security leaders and
police officers in Gaza about how they are facing the latest stage in
the ongoing Israeli campaign to target their personnel, foment chaos,
and strengthen the position of the militias. </p>
<h2><strong>\u2018It\u2019s not aimed at Hamas\u2019</strong></h2>
<p>For months, Hamas security forces have worked to control movement
across the Yellow Line between the Israeli-controlled part of the Strip
and the remaining part of the territory still under Hamas. Their aim was
to monitor and restrict entry points through which collaborators could
infiltrate displacement camps, but Israel has repeatedly struck Hamas
police positions when they appear.</p>
<p>Abu Abdullah (not his real name), a Hamas government official in Khan Younis who spoke to <em>Mondoweiss</em>
on the condition of anonymity, said that the targeting of uniformed
personnel has forced much of the police force to work undercover. But
this isn\u2019t always possible. \u201cWhen we are in hospitals and displacement
camps, we don our uniforms to give people a sense of safety, and to send
a message that we are here to protect them,\u201d he explained. \u201cBut the
occupation targets us at all times and places, regardless of the
surroundings or collateral damage.\u201d</p>
<p>In one such attack on Friday, April 24, an Israeli airstrike targeted
a police position in Khan Younis, killing four police officers and four
civilians who happened to be nearby.</p>
<img width="558" height="372" src="https://mondoweiss.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/250426_Khan_Yunis_TM_0019-1024x683.jpg" alt="Palestinians bid farewell to the bodies of eight Palestinians killed in an Israeli strike targeting a police vehicle in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, April 25, 2026. (Photo: Tariq Mohammad/APA Images)" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;">Palestinians
bid farewell to the bodies of eight Palestinians killed in an Israeli
strike targeting a police vehicle in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis,
southern Gaza Strip, April 25, 2026. (Photo: Tariq Mohammad/APA Images)
<p>The following day, the Islamic and National factions in Gaza held a
joint press conference in Khan Younis to formally reject the targeting
of police forces, calling the strikes an attempt to incite chaos and
destabilize internal security.</p>
<p>\u201cIsrael wants Palestinians to kill each other and steal from one
another. It wants to destroy security in our society so it can control
us,\u201d Jehad al-Qatatti, a member of the Higher Committee of the National
and Islamic factions, told <em>Mondoweiss</em>. \u201cTargeting the police is designed to fracture society and hand over control to the militias. We will not allow that.\u201d</p>
<p>Abu Abdallah echoed a similar sentiment. \u201cThe targeting is not aimed
at Hamas \u2014 it\u2019s aimed at any effort made to protect civilians in Gaza,\u201d
he said. \u201cIt seeks to prevent any Palestinian entity from establishing
its authority over the Strip.\u201d</p>
<p>Abu Hamza, a captain in Gaza City, said Israeli strikes consistently
target recently appointed personnel \u2014 those who are newer, less
experienced, and more visible. He explained that the ranks of Gaza\u2019s
police forces were thinned in light of Israel\u2019s onslaught, but that
thousands of new police officers continued to be recruited throughout
the war. \u201cSome of them are inexperienced and are temporarily filling
these positions to compensate for the losses,\u201d Abu Hamza said. For these
positions, he added, young men with clean records and no known Israeli
surveillance history are prioritized.</p>
<p>Despite the losses, Hamas says its command structure has not
collapsed. \u201cWe have established procedures that are implemented whenever
any leader, police officer, or administrator is killed: qualified
individuals assume responsibilities immediately. Each position has
multiple deputies, and duties are transferred in succession,\u201d Abu Hamza
said. \u201cThis is an emergency arrangement imposed by the conditions of war
to prevent the collapse of the security and policing system.\u201d</p>
<img width="558" height="372" src="https://mondoweiss.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/190426_Gaza_AN_003-1024x683.jpg" alt="The National Gathering of Palestinian Tribes, Clans, and Families organized a demonstration in Gaza protesting the Israeli army's ongoing targeting of Palestinian police officers, Gaza City, April 19, 2026. (Photo: Anas Nour/APA Images)" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;">The
National Gathering of Palestinian Tribes, Clans, and Families organized
a demonstration in Gaza protesting the Israeli army\u2019s ongoing targeting
of Palestinian police officers, Gaza City, April 19, 2026. (Photo: Anas
Nour/APA Images)
<h2><strong>The war on Gaza\u2019s police</strong></h2>
<p>The roots of the ongoing confrontation between Hamas and the militias
go back to the early stages of the genocide in Gaza. By June 2025,
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu <a href="https://web-wp.archive.org/web/20251007233617/https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-providing-guns-to-gaza-jihadist-gang-to-bolster-opposition-to-hamas/">confirmed</a>
that he had \u201cactivated\u201d clans in Gaza opposed to Hamas rule. These
groups were used by the Israeli military to conduct abduction and
assassination operations and to loot aid convoys during the war and the
famine that followed.</p>
<p>In response, Gaza\u2019s Interior Ministry formed a special plainclothes
unit in early 2024 called the Arrow Force, tasked with hunting down
looters and collaborators operating under Israeli protection. In a June
2025 <a href="https://mondoweiss.net/2025/06/inside-the-hamas-unit-fighting-israeli-armed-gangs-that-loot-aid-and-facilitate-displacement-in-gaza/"><em>Mondoweiss</em> investigation</a>
into the unit\u2019s operations, an Arrow member described going to a food
warehouse in Gaza City where armed thieves were attempting to steal aid,
only to be bombed by an Israeli drone when they arrived. \u201cWhen the
Arrow Forces arrived, the thieves withdrew, and the Force was targeted,\u201d
he said. \u201cThen, another unit was dispatched to the site to support the
Force, but it was bombed by the occupation as well.\u201d </p>
<img width="558" height="372" src="https://mondoweiss.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/250125_Nusairat_OSH_0013-1-1024x683.jpg" alt="Palestinian police set up a checkpoint on al-Rashid Street separating southern Gaza from the north, January 25, 2025. (Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images)" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;">Palestinian
police set up a checkpoint on al-Rashid Street separating southern Gaza
from the north, January 25, 2025. (Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images)
<p>The Arrow Unit was reactivated after Israel resumed its assault in
March 2025 and the militias re-emerged under Israeli cover, but the
assault on Israeli-armed militias truly picked up steam after Hamas
launched a <a href="https://mondoweiss.net/2025/10/exclusive-new-hamas-crackdown-on-gaza-militias-will-be-largest-yet-security-source-says/">wide-ranging security campaign</a> to hunt them down when the ceasefire with Israel went into effect last October. </p>
<p>But the armed groups continued to receive Israeli support, while
Hamas forces continued to be targeted by Israeli strikes, despite the
\u201cceasefire.\u201d Since then, the Israeli army has systematically attempted
to intervene whenever Hamas security forces are exposed on the ground,
sending in drones to strike them. And the militias are growing more
aggressive in confronting Hamas\u2019s presence, most recently manifesting in
Ghassan al-Duheini\u2019s Operation Deter the Aggressors.</p>
<h2><strong>\u2018We say goodbye to our families every day\u2019</strong></h2>
<p>Today, the security situation is \u201con the edge,\u201d as an official at the
Ministry of Interior, Abu Ahmad, put it. He described what daily work
now looks like: police officers move through the streets in civilian
clothes, carrying concealed pistols. Members of the Qassam Brigades, the
military wing of Hamas, do the same. \u201cThe plan involves both morning
and evening surveillance shifts. Everyone moves armed through Gaza\u2019s
streets as a precaution,\u201d he said.</p>
<p>Abu Ahmad recounted a kidnapping attempt against one of his
colleagues in the Qassam Brigades earlier this week. Militia members
tried to abduct him in a densely populated area in central Gaza City. He
survived because he was armed and colleagues were nearby.</p>
<p>The stakes are not abstract. \u201cWe say goodbye to our families every
day we go to work,\u201d Abu Ahmad said. \u201cWe know that if we leave, we may
not return. We regard ourselves as martyrs-in-waiting.\u201d</p>
<img width="558" height="377" src="https://mondoweiss.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/250426_Khan_Yunis_TM_0037-1024x691.jpg" alt="Palestinians bid farewell to the bodies of eight Palestinians killed in an Israeli strike targeting a police vehicle in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, April 25, 2026. (Photo: Tariq Mohammad/APA Images)" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;">Palestinians
bid farewell to the bodies of eight Palestinians killed in an Israeli
strike targeting a police vehicle in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis,
southern Gaza Strip, April 25, 2026. (Photo: Tariq Mohammad/APA Images)
<p>Israeli intelligence, he said, sends them regular threats via text
messages and calls from unknown numbers, warning them that they and
their families have been targeted. \u201cBut we refuse to respond to those
messages under any pressure and continue to carry out our national and
humanitarian duty.\u201d</p>
<p>These attacks have weakened security and police control over the
Green Zones, and at times, have forced a pullback. They have also
reduced the police\u2019s ability to pursue criminal elements, enforce the
law, and carry out detention orders, a reality they have lived with
since the outbreak of war. But everyone <em>Mondoweiss</em> spoke with insisted on continuing without retreat.</p>
<p>Since October 2023, at least 770 police officers have been killed on
duty across the Gaza Strip, according to Hamas government figures. The
dead include officers killed at checkpoints, at police positions, and in
the streets while working in plainclothes. In nearly every case, Hamas
says, the strikes came when officers were actively pursuing or
positioning against the militias.</p>
<p>\u201cThere is a clear message that our presence as security forces and
police is a target for Israel,\u201d Abu Ahmad said. The strikes are signals,
he said, aimed at preventing security forces from asserting control and
maintaining order. This is the new stage in Israel\u2019s broader bid to end
Hamas rule and force disarmament.</p>
<p>\u201cWe receive numerous calls and threats to kill our families, but we
refuse to yield to these pressures,\u201d Abu Ahmad said. \u201cOur duty is to
enforce security, and in every war, many members of the police and
security forces are killed. This is our work, and we will not retreat
from it. The occupation will not succeed in imposing its control or
breaking our will.\u201d</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Tareq S. Hajjaj</strong><br>Tareq S. Hajjaj is the Gaza
Correspondent for Mondoweiss and a member of the Palestinian Writers
Union. Follow him on Twitter/X at <a href="https://twitter.com/Tareqshajjaj">@Tareqshajjaj</a>.</p>
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