The terror group’s violent rampage flies in the face of the Trump peace plan, which calls on Hamas to disarm and leave power
As Israelis celebrated the return of their countrymen from Hamas captivity early Monday, the terror group stormed through the streets of Gaza executing Palestinians they claim collaborated with Israel, graphic videos circulating on social media show.
Masked Hamas gunmen sporting the terror group’s signature green headband could be seen lining up bound men in the streets and executing them before cheering mobs just as the 20 living Israeli hostages came home as part of President Donald Trump’s peace plan. The terror group’s rampage suggests it is trying to preserve its rule over Gaza, rejecting the Trump agreement’s requirement that Hamas disarm and stand down.
The gunmen seen in the dramatic footage are affiliated with Hamas’s Arrow Unit, an internal security force known for terrorizing Gaza’s civilian population, according to Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) research analyst Joe Truzman. Hamas’s victims are believed to be members of the Doghmush clan, a Palestinian faction that has openly warred with the terror group in recent days.
Hamas is demanding “all rivals lay down their weapons within 48 hours and surrender their leaders,” the Financial Times reported over the weekend. The graphic videos, Truzman told the Washington Free Beacon, are meant to demonstrate that the terror group still controls Gaza.
“With the ceasefire in effect, Hamas is severely weakened,” Truzman said. “It must assert power by targeting its rivals and those who have allegedly gone against the so-called ‘resistance’ during the war. Hamas intends to stay the dominant power in Gaza. It is doing this by exacting violence on the population. It’s a recipe for a brutal crackdown in the Gaza Strip, and the recently published videos are an example of that.”
Hamas executed at least 25 men within the Doghmush clan in Gaza City over the weekend, reportedly using ambulances to infiltrate the family’s compound and round up its members. The family issued a statement Monday afternoon in which it condemned the terror group’s attacks and called for an emergency gathering of Gazan clans to confront Hamas’s internal security units.
Hamas’s “deterrent force” said in its own Monday statement that it is “carrying out broad security operations across Gaza, arresting suspected ‘collaborators,’ anti-militia members, and criminals,” according to Truzman. The “sweep-and-arrest operations” are being conducted in Gaza City, as well as central and southern Gaza.
A video posted on X Sunday shows armed men firing automatic weapons in Gaza City’s Al-Sabra neighborhood, where Hamas has reportedly executed many Palestinians.
“These units should be considered as an extension of Hamas,” Truzman told the Free Beacon. “They are not independent parties. What we have been witnessing these units do is a display of force against the population” as part of a “deliberate attempt to intimidate” Palestinians who might be emboldened by the ceasefire with Israel.
The Arrow Unit is composed of police officers, trained terrorists, security officials, and regular volunteers. The force has been active since around November 2024 and is tied to a series of public executions, beatings, and other violent acts. The Arrow Unit intentionally records and publicizes its activities as a warning to Gaza’s civilian population.
“Generally, if they intend to keep a suspect or victim alive, they will break limbs with iron bars,” Truzman noted. “If they intend to execute someone, they shoot them.”
Truzman’s FDD colleague Ahmad Sharawi wrote that Hamas’s recent violence in Gaza is meant to send a message both inside the Strip and to the wider world.
“Hamas is now settling scores in Gaza,” he said. “After two years of war, its terrorists have crawled out of their tunnels to confront those who opposed them. We’ve seen clans and armed militias challenge the group’s rule and its decision to bring devastation to the coastal enclave. Yet this moment reveals that Hamas still intends to keep its weapons, a reality that must be addressed with clear benchmarks and enforcement mechanisms when phase two negotiations on disarmament begin.”
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