Hamas mobilises in Gaza as clan clash raises fear of internal violence

# Hamas mobilises in Gaza as clan clash raises fear of internal violence

*Event date: 2025-10-11.*

Hamas has moved forces back into parts of Gaza City after deadly clashes with an armed clan, underscoring the struggle over who will control the territory after the war.

According to the BBC report, the confrontation began after two members of Hamas's elite forces were shot dead by gunmen from the powerful Dughmush clan in Gaza City's Sabra neighbourhood. Hamas then recalled about 7,000 members of its security forces, with local sources saying the order was aimed at reasserting control over areas recently vacated by Israeli troops.

The mobilisation suggests the group is preparing for more than a short security sweep. Reports from Gaza said armed Hamas units deployed across several districts, with some fighters in civilian clothing and others in Gaza police uniforms. Hamas's media office denied that it was sending “fighters in the streets”, but the broader move has intensified concern about internal disorder.

The BBC said Hamas later surrounded a large area where more than 300 Dughmush gunmen were believed to be holed up, armed with machine guns and improvised explosives. By the morning of the report, one Dughmush clan member had been killed and another 30 reportedly detained.

The clash comes at a sensitive moment. The BBC report says the fighting has raised questions over governance in Gaza just as a second phase of US President Donald Trump's peace plan is expected to require Hamas to disarm. That makes the internal security picture part of the wider diplomatic dispute over the future of the enclave.

The Dughmush family has been one of several armed clans and militias active in Gaza during the war, and the BBC report said some of its weapons were looted from Hamas depots while others had been held for years. That mix of old stockpiles, wartime looting and shifting loyalties has made the security landscape in Gaza increasingly hard to predict.

A Hamas official abroad declined to comment directly on the reported deployment, but told the BBC that the group could not leave Gaza “at the mercy of thieves and militias”. A retired Palestinian Authority security officer told the broadcaster he feared the territory was sliding towards another round of internal bloodshed, while a Gaza human rights expert warned that any attempt by Hamas to keep a security role could jeopardise the agreement and deepen civilian suffering.

Those warnings reflect a wider reality on the ground. The ceasefire may have reduced large-scale fighting with Israel, but it has not resolved the question of local power. The BBC report said Gazans are already exhausted by two years of conflict and are now facing a new layer of uncertainty: whether the postwar order will be shaped by formal institutions, armed factions or a violent contest between both.

For now, the clash with the Dughmush clan has become an early test of that future. Hamas is showing it intends to preserve a coercive role in Gaza, and the episode suggests any transition plan will have to contend not only with diplomacy, but with heavily armed actors inside the strip itself.