Amid heavy Israeli airstrikes across Gaza, armed gangs carried out kidnappings and executions of Palestinians on Monday in areas controlled by Hamas, west of the so-called “yellow line” separating Israeli forces from the Palestinian movement.
According to local sources, Sunday’s strikes against Hamas and other armed factions deployed along the separating line resulted in security breaches that allowed armed gangs operating in Israeli-controlled zones to infiltrate areas west of the yellow line.
In response, Palestinian factions expanded their deployment, under what they termed “Operation Ribat”, to prevent the infiltration of collaborators with Israel into their areas. However, the Israeli strikes hit those fighters, killing several.
Before dawn on Monday, gunmen affiliated with the Rami Helles gang, which is active in eastern Gaza City, raided homes on the western outskirts of the Shujaiya neighborhood, just meters from Salah al-Din Road and more than 150 meters from the yellow line.
Field sources and affected families told Asharq Al-Awsat that the gunmen abducted several residents from their homes and interrogated them on the spot amid intense Israeli drone activity. Quad-copter drones were reportedly providing “security cover” for the attackers and opening fire in the surrounding area.
The sources said the gunmen shot and killed Hussam al-Jaabari, 31, after he refused to answer their questions. His body was left at the scene before the attackers withdrew, releasing others who had been detained. Al-Jaabari was later pronounced dead at Al-Maamadani (Al-Ahli Arab) Hospital.
In a separate incident, gunmen linked to the Ashraf al-Mansi gang, which is active in Jabalia and Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, stormed Abu Tammam School in Beit Lahiya that shelters dozens of displaced families, also under Israeli drone surveillance.
Several young men were abducted and taken to a gang-controlled location, and they haven’t been heard of since. Three families of women and children were briefly detained and later released.
Sources in the Palestinian armed factions denied that any of the abducted individuals or the victim of the killing were members of their groups.
Meanwhile, Hamas’ Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades froze deployments near the yellow line after Israeli airstrikes killed 10 of its members in two raids in Khan Younis and Jabalia on Sunday.
A Hamas source said the move was temporary and could be reversed once Israeli strikes subside.
Israel said it targeted Qassam fighters after gunmen emerged from a tunnel in Beit Hanoun, a claim it has used to justify strikes on faction targets and the assassination of senior operatives.
On Monday, the army announced it had killed a group of gunmen in Rafah, raising fears of further escalation.
Separately, dozens of families of missing Palestinians held a protest in Khan Younis, demanding information about relatives who disappeared during the war. UN estimates put the number of missing in Gaza at between 8,000 and 11,000, with their fate still unknown.
