Violence has erupted in Gaza with a ferocity that shakes the soul, as dozens lie dead in the streets over bitter factional disputes just hours before a critical hostage release.
Fox News reported that fierce fighting in Gaza claimed at least 64 lives, pitting Hamas forces against the Doghmush clan in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City, amid accusations of betrayal and collaboration with Israel, all while a ceasefire celebration unfolded elsewhere in the region and a significant hostage handover loomed on Monday.
This bloodshed unfolded as families fled in sheer panic from gunfire, not from external threats, but from internal strife among their own people.
Hamas launched a raid targeting the Doghmush clan, alleging their cooperation with Israel, while clan members countered that Hamas exploited a fragile ceasefire to strike at them.
According to Ynet, the toll was staggering—52 Doghmush members and 12 Hamas fighters perished in the clashes, painting a grim picture of brother-against-brother violence.
The Hamas Interior Ministry claimed a militia initiated the attack on its forces, but the raw numbers of the dead suggest a deeper, uglier feud that no press release can sanitize.
Among the fallen was blogger Salah al-Ja‘farawi, gunned down while reporting on the chaos, with Hamas’s own television channel blaming “armed gangs operating outside the law” for his death.
Even senior Hamas official Basem Naim suffered a personal loss, as the Jerusalem Post reported his son was killed in the fighting—a reminder that no one escapes the cost of such conflicts.
Meanwhile, in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah, terrorists celebrated a ceasefire, a stark contrast to the carnage elsewhere, showing how fragmented and volatile the region remains.
As the gunfire raged, one unnamed witness told the BBC, “This time people weren’t fleeing Israeli attacks. They were running from their own people.”
That quote cuts deep—when the enemy isn’t across a border but in your own backyard, trust erodes faster than a ceasefire agreement on paper.
Another voice from the Doghmush side, speaking to Ynet, cried out, “Children are screaming and dying, they are burning our houses,” encapsulating the despair of civilians caught in a crossfire of ideology and revenge.
On the political front, Hamas’s Interior and National Security Ministry offered a “clemency framework” for militia members and criminals to surrender by the following Sunday, with stern warnings of harsh consequences for those who refuse.
Elsewhere, three anti-Hamas militias boldly endorsed President Trump’s peace proposal, openly rejecting Hamas’s grip on Gaza—a move that could either spark hope or ignite further unrest, depending on how you view top-down solutions to ground-level grudges.
As Monday dawned, all eyes turned to the expected release of 20 living hostages by Hamas to the Red Cross, set for noon local time in Gaza, with the captives to be transported under supervision in multiple vehicles to Israeli forces and then to southern Israel for emotional reunions.
