No fewer than 27 people have been killed in intense confrontations between Hamas fighters and militants of the Dughmush tribe in Gaza City, marking among the deadliest internal clashes since the end of extensive Israeli campaigns in the territory.
Concealed Hamas militants engaged in shooting with tribal combatants near the city's medical facility, according to witnesses.
A top authority in the interior ministry under Hamas stated that armed units encircled them and entered fierce battles to apprehend them. The ministry reported that 8 its members were killed in "a violent offensive by a paramilitary force".
Medical sources confirmed that 19 Dughmush family fighters and 8 Hamas security personnel had been lost their lives since fighting began on Saturday.
Eyewitnesses reported that the confrontations commenced in the Tel al-Hawa district in south Gaza City after a Hamas unit of over 300 militants advanced to attack a residential block where Dughmush militants were dug in.
Residents described chaotic situations as many residents fled their homes under heavy gunfire, with many of them having been forced to move frequently during the hostilities.
"In this instance civilians weren't running from Israeli offensives," an eyewitness stated. "They were running from their own people."
The Dughmush family, one of Gaza's most prominent clans, has consistently experienced a tense relationship with Hamas, and its militant members have confronted the group on multiple instances in the previous years.
The Hamas-controlled interior ministry declared its forces were working to reinstate stability, warning that "all militant actions not within the system of the Palestinian resistance" would be addressed decisively.
Each faction exchanged blame over who was responsible for instigating the violence.
The organization earlier said that Dughmush militants eliminated 2 its militants and wounded five additional members, resulting in the organization to initiate an action against them.
Conversely, a Dughmush clan insider told local media that Hamas forces had come to a building that previously functioned as the Jordanian healthcare facility, where the clan had taken refuge after their homes in the al-Sabra district were demolished in the recent Israeli attack.
The source claimed that the movement tried to expel the tribe from the building to create a different command center for its units there.
Hamas has recalled approximately 7,000 personnel of its security forces to reinforce authority over Gaza territories previously evacuated by Israeli forces, according to regional insiders.
Reports suggest that Hamas militant squads have already deployed across various neighborhoods, with certain members in plain attire and additional elements in the blue gear of the Gaza security forces. The Hamas press division denied that it was stationing combatants in urban zones.
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