[News] Masked Hamas fighters seen executing men in Gaza City as the group fights with rival powers

[BUTA]

Violent clashes have erupted between Hamas and rival groups in several areas across Gaza, including an incident that culminated in an apparent public execution, as worries grow about the security situation following Israel’s withdrawal from parts of the territory.

Reports of violence have been shared widely on social media channels, with one particularly gruesome video that was shared by Hamas-affiliated channels showing a group of masked fighters, some of whom are wearing green Hamas headbands, killing eight blindfolded people in a square in Gaza City while large crowds are watching, a possible sign of the brutality Hamas is using to reassert itself as the security force.

CNN has verified the location where the video was filmed, the al Sabra neighborhood in western Gaza City, but it cannot independently confirm when the incident took place.

 

However, it is likely the incident took place after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect, as Israeli troops were operating in the area before that. War-time damage to the buildings seen in the video suggests it has been filmed recently.

The detainees — all of whom appear to be adult men — are seen being dragged into the square, hands tied behind their backs. Some have been partially stripped and are barefooted.

Some of the fighters are seen forcefully hitting some of the prisoners as they are lined up to be executed. The fighters cheer after shooting the detainees.

Palestinian factions and human rights groups condemned the executions.

The office of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas issued a statement condemning the killings, calling them “heinous crimes” and “a blatant violation of human rights.”

The Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR), the Palestinian national human rights watchdog, said the “acts constitute grave legal and moral crimes that require urgent condemnation and accountability.”

But Palestinian Resistance Factions, a lose alliance of Hamas and Hamas-allied groups including Palestinian Islamic Jihad, commended what it called a “security campaign being carried out by the Ministry of Interior and National Security in Gaza to enforce the law and pursue those who violate it, including collaborators, mercenaries, thieves, bandits, and those cooperating with the Zionist enemy throughout the Gaza Strip.”

Accusations of collaboration
The Hamas-affiliated security force Radaa said in the statement that it “conducted a precise operation in the center of Gaza City, resulting in the neutralization of several wanted individuals and outlaws.”

A statement posted on a Hamas-affiliated Telegram channel on Wednesday that the executions were carried out “after the completion of all legal and judicial procedures” – a claim that was widely disputed.

It said the detainees were collaborating with Israel or were involved in security and criminal offences, but it did not provide any evidence.

Radaa said that it has taken control of positions in Gaza City and “conducted sweeps and arrests of individuals who participated in shootings, the killing of displaced persons, and attacks on civilians.”

In another statement on Wednesday, Radaa said it “has been conducting a comprehensive security operation across all areas of the Strip for several days, targeting those involved in collaboration with the occupation and its mercenaries and anyone who shelters them.”

 

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