Hamas’ struggle to control Gaza as infighting between clans persists

The Israeli military said it struck "dozens of terror targets and terrorists" in response to violations by Hamas of the US-brokered ceasefire deal. Israel’s defence minister accused Hamas of carrying out an attack in Gaza this week that killed an Israeli soldier, as well as breaching the agreement by failing to return the bodies of deceased hostages.

More than 100 Palestinians have been killed in the latest wave of violence, while Hamas insists it had no connection to the attack on Israeli forces.

While details of the renewed clashes remain unclear, it is evident that Hamas is not the only power asserting control in Gaza since the ceasefire began. Several powerful clans in the Strip — some of which collaborated with Hamas in its attacks on Israel, including the October 7 terrorist assault — continue to wield influence.

Others are linked to Hamas’s political rival, the West Bank-based Fatah movement, adding to the internal tensions within the enclave.

Clans have been integral to Palestinian society for centuries and have played a pivotal role in its modern political evolution. These clans are composed of extended family groups spread across Gaza, according to an article published by The Conversation. Among the largest are the Dughmush clan in Gaza City, headed by Mumtaz Dughmush, and al-Majayda clan, which holds sway in part of Khan Younis.

Role of clans in Gaza’s political history

After the 1948 war that led to the creation of Israel, around 750,000 Palestinians left for Gaza, the West Bank, and neighbouring Arab states. During this period, clans began to assume traditional roles as mediators and providers of social support, stepping in to fill the void left by the collapse of prewar governance.

As order, security, and economic stability gradually returned in the decades that followed, reliance on clan networks diminished — until the Palestinian uprisings known as the First Intifada (1987–93) and Second Intifada (2000–05) reignited their importance. The Gaza Strip, viewed as a stronghold of organized Palestinian resistance, saw clans transform once more into powerful actors.

The Second Intifada marked a major shift in their role. Israeli operations destroyed much of the Palestinian Authority’s security infrastructure, leaving Hamas and Fatah unable to guarantee local safety. According to the article, the clans stepped into this vacuum, many of which evolved into armed groups.

Even after the fighting ended, their influence persisted. When Hamas won the 2006 elections, Fatah-aligned clans tried to block its rise to power. After Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007, it took nearly a year to subdue the strongest clans — and even then, the result was more a truce than a triumph.

New power vacuum and clan resurgence

With Israel’s partial troop withdrawal, a new security vacuum has emerged yet again, and many clans are reportedly moving to fill it — in some cases, with Israel’s tacit support. In June, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that his government was arming certain Gazan clans, gangs, and militias, including the Popular Forces led by Yasser Abu Shabab. Netanyahu argued that “any opposition to Hamas” ultimately benefits Israel by saving soldiers’ lives and intensifying internal Palestinian divisions.

Following the ceasefire, Hamas began executing those it branded “collaborators and traitors,” targeting clans and militias accused of cooperating with Israel. Public executions in Gaza were widely reported in the international media.

The Popular Forces have refused to disarm, and reports suggest that a dozen new militias have formed across the Strip. Among them is one led by Hossam al-Astal, who declared: "Hamas was always betting that there won’t be any alternative to replace them in Gaza, but now I’m telling you, today, there is an alternative force to Hamas. It could be me or Abu Shabab or anyone else, but alternatives today exist."

Unresolved demand of handing over deceased Israeli hostages

Following the October 7 attacks, the BBC’s fact-checking team identified at least five armed groups involved in the assault on Israel alongside Hamas. While united in their use of violence against Israel, these groups differ in ideology and in their visions for a future Palestinian state.

Senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk told the BBC in the early phases of the war that Hamas “is not holding all the hostages in Gaza.” This has become a major complication, as the ceasefire requires Hamas to return the bodies of all deceased Israeli hostages — something the group may be unable to fulfil, threatening the truce’s stability.

Beyond the Popular Forces, groups such as the Al Quds Brigades (the military wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad) and the Al Nasir Salah Al Din Brigades operate in Gaza and are aligned with Hamas.

Meanwhile, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades — associated with the Fatah movement — also participated in the October 7 attacks, according to the BBC. Another group, the Mujahideen Brigades, once tied to Fatah but now aligned with Islamic Jihad, has also claimed involvement and possession of hostages.

Analysts warn that the fragmented landscape of militias and clans could once again make Gaza ungovernable. As the article notes, this opens the possibility that the more powerful clans could become alternate centres of political power, as happened during the Second Intifada — fracturing Gaza further and weakening any future attempts to unify Palestinian governance.

By Nazrin Sadigova