At least 27 people have been killed in fierce clashes between Hamas security forces and armed members of the Dughmush family in Gaza City, in one of the most violent internal confrontations since the end of major Israeli operations in the enclave.
Masked Hamas gunmen exchanged fire with clan fighters near the city's Jordanian hospital, eyewitnesses reported.
A senior official in the Hamas-run interior ministry stated that security units surrounded the militants and engaged in heavy fighting to detain them. The ministry emphasized that eight of its members lost their lives in what they described as an armed assault by a militia.
Medical sources indicated that out of the total casualties, 19 belonged to the Dughmush clan while eight were Hamas fighters, marking a deadly escalation since the conflict commenced on Saturday.
The clashes erupted in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in southern Gaza after a considerable Hamas contingent of over 300 fighters attempted to storm a residential area where Dughmush gunmen had begun to mobilize.
Residents described scenes of panic as dozens of families fled their homes amid the heavy gunfire, many of whom had already been displaced during previous conflicts. This time people weren't fleeing Israeli attacks, one local commented, they were running from their own people.
The Dughmush family, prominent in Gaza, has long held a strained relationship with Hamas and has faced violent confrontations with the group in the past.
The Hamas-run interior ministry characterized the incident as an effort to restore order, warning that any armed activity outside the framework of the resistance would be dealt with decisively.
Both sides have accused each other of igniting the clashes, with Hamas claiming Dughmush fighters had killed two of its members, prompting their military action against the clan.
Conversely, a source from the Dughmush clan asserted that Hamas launched a punitive operation against them at a building previously used as a Jordanian Hospital, where the clan had taken refuge following the destruction of their homes in an earlier Israeli assault, contending that Hamas intended to evict them to establish a new base.
Reports suggest that Hamas has recalled approximately 7,000 of its security personnel to reassert control over areas vacated by Israeli forces. Armed Hamas units have reportedly been deployed across several districts, some in civilian clothing and others in standard police uniforms, although the Hamas media office has denied this deployment of fighters in the streets.
