At least 27 lives have been claimed in fierce confrontations between Hamas armed units and militants of the Dughmush tribe in the Gaza urban area, marking one of the most violent internal clashes since the conclusion of major Israeli operations in the territory.
Disguised Hamas militants engaged in shooting with family militants near the city's healthcare center, according to witnesses.
Ministry Statement
A top authority in the interior ministry under Hamas stated that armed units surrounded them and engaged in heavy fighting to detain them. The department reported that 8 its members were killed in "a militant attack by a paramilitary force".
Medical sources confirmed that 19 Dughmush family fighters and eight Hamas militants had been lost their lives since violence erupted on Saturday.
On-the-Ground Accounts
Local residents reported that the violence commenced in the Tel al-Hawa area in the southern part of Gaza City after a Hamas contingent of over 300 militants moved to storm a apartment building where Dughmush militants were dug in.
Residents described frightening moments as many residents evacuated their residences under intense shooting, with numerous individuals having been relocated repeatedly during the conflict.
"On this occasion civilians weren't running from Israeli offensives," a local inhabitant stated. "They were escaping from their own people."
Long-Standing Tensions
The Dughmush family, among Gaza's notable families, has long had a conflictual dynamic with the governing authority, and its armed members have clashed with the movement on several occasions in the earlier periods.
The Hamas-run interior ministry stated its personnel were attempting to reestablish control, warning that "every paramilitary operation beyond the structure of the national struggle" would be addressed decisively.
Conflicting Versions
The two parties exchanged blame over who initiated the violence for instigating the violence.
The organization earlier said that Dughmush gunmen killed two its fighters and injured five more personnel, prompting the movement to launch an operation against them.
Conversely, a source from the Dughmush family told local media that Hamas units had come to a building that previously functioned as the Jordanian healthcare facility, where the family had taken refuge after their homes in the al-Sabra neighbourhood were destroyed in the latest Israeli offensive.
The source claimed that the authority sought to evict the clan from the premises to establish a new base for its units there.
Broader Situation
Hamas has recalled approximately 7,000 personnel of its security forces to reassert control over Gaza regions formerly abandoned by Israeli troops, according to area informants.
Accounts reveal that Hamas militant squads have been positioned across several districts, with certain members in plain attire and the remainder in the blue attire of the Gaza police. The Hamas press division rejected that it was deploying "fighters in the streets".
