Hamas fighters cemented their control across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, publicly executing alleged collaborators and directly challenging Israel’s demand for disarmament. These visible actions openly defy Washington’s assertion that the war cannot end until the militants surrender their weapons under President Donald Trump’s new peace plan.
Consequently, the group’s return to the streets underscores the formidable difficulties facing international efforts to secure a lasting resolution to this brutal conflict.
Hamas fighters forcefully reasserted the group’s presence by executing men they accused of working with Israeli forces. In a disturbing video circulated late Monday, Hamas gunmen dragged seven men into a public circle in Gaza City and forced them onto their knees. They summarily shot the men from behind, a brutal act a Hamas source later confirmed as authentic.
Furthermore, residents reported seeing fighters becoming increasingly visible Tuesday, deploying heavily along crucial routes necessary for urgent aid deliveries. Palestinian security sources indicate that dozens of people have recently died in clashes between Hamas operatives and rival groups, highlighting the highly volatile security situation.
Violations Mar Withdrawal and Aid Efforts
Although Israeli ground troops withdrew from Gaza’s urban areas as part of the ceasefire implemented last week, low-level violence immediately continued. Drone fire tragically killed five people checking on their homes in a suburb east of Gaza City, and a separate air strike near Khan Younis killed one person and injured another, according to local health authorities.
Hamas quickly accused Israel of violating the truce lines; conversely, the Israeli military stated its forces only fired upon individuals who crossed those lines and ignored repeated warnings to turn back. While the fragile ceasefire stopped two years of devastating warfare, promised increases in humanitarian aid deliveries have not yet materialized for Gaza’s 2.2 million people facing widespread famine.
The Future of the Trump Plan
The resurgence of Hamas control complicates the daunting hurdles facing President Trump’s peace initiative, which aims for a longer-term resolution. While Trump heralded the “historic dawn of a new Middle East” to the Israeli parliament, the plan’s most difficult components remain completely unnegotiated.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu consistently maintains that the war must continue until Hamas fully disarms and permanently relinquishes control of Gaza, a condition the militants repeatedly reject. Previously, Israel abandoned a truce when Hamas fighters appeared in the streets, canceling negotiations on ending the war.
However, Trump surprisingly stated on Monday that Hamas temporarily has “approval” to keep order, noting, “They do want to stop the problems, and they’ve been open about it.”
Hamas, despite being significantly weakened after two years of punishing Israeli bombardment and ground incursions, now systematically reasserts itself across the territory. The group deployed hundreds of workers to start clearing rubble and repairing essential infrastructure needed to access damaged housing and facilitate aid.
Meanwhile, in Israel, families received confirmation of four more deceased hostages, leaving the remains of at least 23 dead hostages still unaccounted for in Gaza’s rubble. The stark reality is that the new ceasefire remains exceptionally fragile, threatened both by Israeli military action and Hamas’ brutal determination to maintain political and military control.
