GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Hamas security forces were tightening their grip on Gaza’s ruined cities Tuesday even as global support mounted for a US-backed deal that would see them disarmed.
When bus loads of prisoners freed from Israeli jails arrived in Gaza on Monday, fighters from Hamas’s Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades provided crowd control.
In the north of the territory, as Israeli forces withdrew from Gaza City, the Hamas government’s black-masked armed police resumed street patrols.
Meanwhile, a Hamas security unit has been conducting operations against armed clans and gangs, some alleged to have Israeli backing.
“Intense clashes broke out — and are still ongoing at the moment — as part of efforts to eliminate collaborators,” said witness Yahya, who asked not to be named in full for fear of retribution.
