Hamas Executes Alleged Israeli Collaborators in Gaza Hours After Signing Peace Deal

Hamas executed several men in public in Gaza on Monday, October 13, just hours after signing a peace treaty with Israel. The killings, described by witnesses as brutal reprisals, appear to be part of a campaign by the group to reassert its authority in the territory following the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

Footage circulating online shows eight blindfolded and battered men kneeling in a street before being shot dead by Hamas gunmen as onlookers cheered. Hamas claimed, without offering evidence, that the victims were “criminals and collaborators with Israel,” according to the BBC.

Among those killed was Ahmad Zidan al-Tarabin, who was reportedly involved in recruiting members for a rival militia unaffiliated with Hamas, Israeli outlet Ynet News reported.

The executions followed a weekend of heavy clashes between Hamas and Gaza’s powerful family-based armed groups, known as clans. On Sunday, 52 members of the Dagmoush clan were killed in fighting with Hamas security forces, along with 12 Hamas members, including the son of senior official Bassem Naim, according to local reports.

Witnesses said Hamas militants used ambulances to enter the Dagmoush neighborhood, accusing the clan of collaborating with Israel. “It’s a massacre,” said the daughter of one clan member in comments to Ynet. “They’re dragging people away, children are screaming and dying, they’re burning our houses. What did we do wrong?”

Earlier on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he had approved Hamas’s control over internal security in Gaza as part of the peace deal aimed at securing the release of remaining Israeli hostages. “They do want to stop the problems, and they’ve been open about it, and we gave them approval for a period of time,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.