The BBC on Tuesday verified a video that showed Hamas terrorist gunmen executing eight bound Palestinian captives in a public square in Gaza, surrounded by a crowd of supporters who cheered the murders with cries of “Allahu Akbar!”
The BBC said it would not share the footage because “it is too distressing to show,” but provided some details for how its technicians authenticated the clip, including the layout of the streets around the square where the executions took place. Reuters also verified the authenticity of the videos with a “Hamas source,” reporting that the videos began circulating on Monday evening.
Hamas reportedly acknowledged the killings in a statement that claimed the victims were “criminals and collaborators with Israel.” Hamas has executed quite a few Palestinians during the Gaza war, and usually claims its victims were collaborating with Israel.
Ynet News reported that one of the captives executed in the video was Ahmad Zidan al-Tarabin, said to be “responsible for recruiting agents for the Abu Shabab militia.” Yasser Abu Shabab is one of the most powerful gang leaders in Gaza outside of Hamas. His militia is known as the Popular Army. Sources in Gaza told Ynet that Shabab and other militia leaders are top targets for Hamas death squads.
The BBC hinted that the latest victims could have been prisoners taken during Hamas’s battle for control over postwar Gaza with various clans and gangs. A member of one of the clans fighting Hamas, the Dughmush family, denounced the Monday evening executions as a “criminal” act.
At least 27 people were killed over the weekend as Hamas gunmen fought gun battles with Dughmush fighters near a building that used to be a Jordanian-run hospital in Gaza City. Hamas appeared to come out on top in the conflict, as measured by body count, since medical officials in Gaza said 19 of the dead were Dughmush clan members.
According to eyewitnesses, Hamas sent a force of over 300 fighters into the neighborhood, which was a Dughmush stronghold. Terrified civilians fled the area during the battle.
“This time people weren’t fleeing Israeli attacks. They were running from their own people,” said a dismayed Gaza City resident.
The Hamas “interior ministry” claimed its forces were defending themselves from “an armed assault by a militia.” Sources in the Dughmush family said Hamas launched a massive attack against the old hospital building, where members of the family took refuge after their homes were destroyed by Israeli strikes during the war, because Hamas wanted to establish its own base in the building.
According to Ynet News, Hamas used ambulances to slip its gunmen into position around the Dughmush stronghold. Clan members claimed that up to 52 members of their family were killed in the attack.
“It’s a massacre. They’re dragging people away, children are screaming and dying, they’re burning our houses. What did we do wrong?” the daughter of a Dughmush fighter wailed.
I24 News reported that over 30 Palestinians have been executed by Hamas for “treason and collaboration” since Hamas released its Israeli hostages on Monday morning. Many of the victims were reportedly members of rival armed groups like the Dughmush clan.
“Gaza residents said fighters were increasingly visible on Tuesday, deploying along routes needed for aid deliveries. Palestinian security sources say dozens of people have been killed in clashes between Hamas fighters and rivals in recent days,” Reuters added.
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