Internal Conflict Erupts in Gaza City: 27 Casualties Reported

Wed Dec 03 2025 12:43:38 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Fierce clashes between Hamas forces and Dughmush clan members leave at least 27 dead in Gaza City, raising alarms over internal violence after recent hostilities.

Violence in Gaza City escalated as clashes between Hamas security forces and members of the Dughmush family resulted in at least 27 deaths, marking one of the deadliest internal confrontations in the region following major Israeli military operations. Eyewitnesses reported intense gunfire as residents fled the violence, highlighting deteriorating security and rising tension among armed groups.

At least 27 people have been killed in fierce clashes between Hamas security forces and armed members of the Dughmush family in Gaza City, in one of the most violent internal confrontations since the end of major Israeli operations in the enclave.

Masked Hamas gunmen exchanged fire with clan fighters near the city's Jordanian hospital, witnesses said.

A senior official in the Hamas-run interior ministry said security units surrounded them and engaged in heavy fighting to detain them. The ministry reported that eight of its members were killed in an armed assault by a militia.

Medical sources confirmed that 19 Dughmush clan members and eight Hamas fighters had lost their lives since fighting began on Saturday.

Eyewitnesses indicated that the clashes erupted in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in southern Gaza City after a Hamas force of more than 300 fighters moved to storm a residential block where Dughmush gunmen were entrenched.

Residents described scenes of panic as dozens of families fled their homes under heavy gunfire, many of them displaced multiple times during the war. One resident remarked, This time people weren't fleeing Israeli attacks; they were running from their own people. The Dughmush family is one of Gaza's most prominent clans and has a history of conflict with Hamas.

The Hamas-run interior ministry indicated that its forces were aiming to restore order and warned that any armed activity outside the framework of the resistance would be handled firmly. Both sides exchanged accusations regarding the initiation of the clashes.

Hamas stated that Dughmush gunmen had killed two of its fighters, provoking the group to launch operations against them. However, a Dughmush source refuted this, claiming that Hamas forces sought to evict the family from a building that had previously served as the Jordanian Hospital, where they had taken refuge after their homes were destroyed during recent Israeli attacks.

Reports suggest that Hamas has mobilized approximately 7,000 members of its security forces to reassert control over areas recently vacated by Israeli troops. Armed Hamas units have reportedly deployed across various districts, some in civilian attire and others in police uniforms, though Hamas denied the deployment of fighters in the streets.