At least 27 individuals have perished in intense clashes between Hamas security personnel and armed members of the Dughmush family in Gaza City, marking one of the most severe internal conflicts since the cessation of major Israeli military operations in the territory.
Eyewitnesses report that masked Hamas gunmen exchanged gunfire with clan fighters in proximity to the city’s Jordanian hospital.
A senior official within the Hamas-run interior ministry stated that security units encircled and engaged in heavy combat to apprehend the group. The ministry reported that eight of its members were killed in “an armed assault by a militia”.
Medical sources indicate that 19 members of the Dughmush clan and eight Hamas combatants have been killed since the commencement of hostilities on Saturday.
According to eyewitness accounts, the confrontations erupted in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in southern Gaza City after a Hamas force, comprising more than 300 fighters, moved to raid a residential block where Dughmush gunmen were entrenched.
Residents described scenes of widespread panic as scores of families fled their homes under heavy gunfire, many of whom had already been displaced multiple times during the preceding conflict.
“This time people weren’t fleeing Israeli attacks,” one resident noted. “They were running from their own people.”
The Dughmush family, a prominent clan in Gaza, has historically maintained a strained relationship with Hamas, and armed members have clashed with the group on several prior occasions.
The Hamas-run interior ministry asserted that its forces were endeavoring to restore order, cautioning that “any armed activity outside the framework of the resistance” would be addressed with decisive action.
Both factions have traded accusations regarding responsibility for initiating the clashes.
Hamas previously stated that Dughmush gunmen killed two of its fighters and wounded five others, prompting the group to initiate an operation against them.
However, a source within the Dughmush family informed local media that Hamas forces approached a building formerly used as the Jordanian Hospital, where the family had sought refuge after their homes in the al-Sabra neighborhood were destroyed in the recent Israeli offensive.
The source alleged that Hamas intended to evict the family from the building in order to establish a new base for its forces.
Hamas has reportedly recalled approximately 7,000 members of its security forces to reassert control over areas of Gaza recently vacated by Israeli troops, according to local sources.
Reports indicate that armed Hamas units have been deployed across several districts, with some members in civilian attire and others in the blue uniforms of the Gaza police. The Hamas media office has denied deploying “fighters in the streets”.
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