Hamas safety officer says group has misplaced management over most of Gaza

A senior officer in Hamas’s safety forces has instructed the BBC the Palestinian armed group has misplaced about 80% of its management over the Gaza Strip and that armed clans are filling the void.

The lieutenant colonel stated Hamas’s command and management system had collapsed because of months of Israeli strikes which have devastated the group’s political, navy and safety management.

The officer was wounded within the first week of the struggle, which started after the Hamas-led assault on Israel on 7 October 2023, and has since stepped away from his duties for well being causes.

He shared a number of voice messages with the BBC on situation of anonymity.

Within the messages, the officer painted an image of Hamas’s inner disintegration and the near-total collapse of safety throughout Gaza, which the group ruled earlier than the battle.

“Let’s be life like right here – there’s barely something left of the safety construction. Many of the management, about 95%, at the moment are useless… The lively figures have all been killed,” he stated. “So actually, what’s stopping Israel from persevering with this struggle?”

“Logically, it has to proceed till the top. All of the situations are aligned: Israel has the higher hand, the world is silent, the Arab regimes are silent, prison gangs are all over the place, society is collapsing.”

Final September, Israel’s then-defence minister declared that “Hamas as a navy formation not exists” and that it was engaged in guerrilla warfare.

In response to the officer, Hamas tried to regroup through the 57-day ceasefire with Israel earlier this 12 months, reorganizing its political, navy, and safety councils.

However since Israel ended the truce in March, it has focused Hamas’s remaining command buildings, leaving the group in disarray.

“Concerning the safety state of affairs, let me be clear: it has utterly collapsed. Completely gone. There is not any management anyplace,” he stated.

“Folks looted probably the most highly effective Hamas safety equipment (Ansar), the advanced which Hamas used to rule Gaza.

“They looted every thing, the workplaces – mattresses, even zinc panels – and no-one intervened. No police, no safety.”

The officer stated a consequence of the safety vacuum was gangs or armed clans had been “all over the place”.

“They may cease you, kill you. Nobody would intervene. Anybody who tried to behave on their very own, like organising resistance in opposition to thieves, was bombed by Israel inside half an hour.

“So, the safety state of affairs is zero. Hamas’s management is zero. There is not any management, no command, no communication. Salaries are delayed, and after they do arrive, they’re barely usable. Some die simply attempting to gather them. It is whole collapse.”

On 26 June, no less than 18 individuals had been killed when an Israeli drone strike focused a plainclothes Hamas police unit making an attempt to claim management over a market in Deir al-Balah, accusing distributors of worth gouging and promoting looted support, witnesses and medics stated.

The Israeli navy stated it struck “a number of armed terrorists” belonging to Hamas’s Inner Safety Forces.

On this vacuum, six armed teams affiliated with highly effective native clans have emerged as critical contenders to fill the void, in response to the officer.

These teams have entry to cash, weapons and males, and are lively throughout all of Gaza, however largely within the south.

One among them is led by Yasser Abu Shabab, a determine who has attracted consideration from the Palestinian Authority, which relies within the occupied West Financial institution and is a rival to Hamas, in addition to regional gamers – notably after Israel confirmed final month that it was supplying him with weapons.

The officer confirmed that Hamas had positioned a big bounty on Abu Shabab’s head, fearing he may turn out to be a unifying determine for its many enemies.

“Hamas would ignore peculiar thieves. Individuals are hungry and (the fighters) do not need to provoke extra chaos. However this man? If the Hamas fighters discover him, they could go after him as an alternative of Israeli tanks.”

Sources in Gaza instructed the BBC that Abu Shabab was working to co-ordinate with different armed teams to type a joint council aimed toward toppling Hamas.

A retired Palestinian safety official, who was a part of the power that cracked down on Hamas’s navy wing in 1996 following a wave of bombings in Israel, stated Abu Shabab’s community was gaining traction.

“Abu Shabab’s group is like an orphaned youngster who everybody will need to undertake if he succeeds in undermining Hamas rule,” stated the official, who now lives in Cairo.

“Publicly, all sides deny hyperlinks to the armed teams in Gaza. However Abu Shabab has met a senior Palestinian intelligence officer 3 times and despatched messages of assurance to the Egyptians by means of family members in Sinai,” he claimed.

He additionally stated Abu Shabab “maintains good ties with Mohammad Dahlan’s camp”. Dahlan is a former Gaza safety chief who has lived in exile since he fell out with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas 15 years in the past.

The Hamas safety officer warned the group was “keen to do something” to remove Abu Shabab not due to his present navy power, however out of concern he may turn out to be a logo round which all of Hamas’s adversaries rally.

“For 17 years, Hamas made enemies all over the place. If somebody like Abu Shabab can rally these forces, that could possibly be the start of the top for us.”

As Gaza is plunged additional into lawlessness, with whole neighbourhoods descending into gang rule, Hamas finds itself not slightly below Israeli fireplace however more and more surrounded by rivals from inside.