The security apparatus of the Hamas-run government in the Gaza Strip has widened its deployment across new areas of the enclave, seeking to reassert control and restore public order after months of chaos and Israeli pursuit of its members during the war that ended with a ceasefire taking effect at noon on Friday.
From the first moments of the ceasefire, small groups of Hamas security officers appeared in the streets, with their presence growing notably by Saturday morning. The deployment was visible in Gaza City following Israel’s withdrawal, as well as in parts of central and southern Gaza.
Security officers were seen at intersections and major roads, inspecting vehicles, particularly in eastern Gaza City, where Israeli forces and armed groups remain active.
Field sources reported that internal security units and members of Hamas’ military intelligence, affiliated with the Qassam Brigades, were heavily deployed in northern Gaza, especially in Jabalia town and its refugee camp.
According to these sources, Hamas forces began pursuing newly formed armed groups - such as the so-called “Yasser Abu Shabab Forces” or “Popular Forces” - killing some members and arresting others in Jabalia and the outskirts of Beit Lahiya. Hamas fighters also clashed with armed men near Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood and in southern Khan Younis.
On Friday evening, Hamas gunmen attacked members of a well-known tribe in southern Gaza City, killing and wounding several after those tribesmen executed the son of a senior Qassam commander. Hamas had previously vowed to confront and punish such groups, which it accused of defiance or collaboration with Israel during the war.
With the fighting paused, Gaza’s municipalities have resumed operations despite the destruction of heavy equipment by Israeli strikes. Bulldozers from municipal and government agencies, including Hamas’s “Civil Front”, started clearing rubble from main roads in Gaza and Khan Younis to reopen streets.
Residents have begun returning to devastated neighborhoods, pitching tents near the ruins of their homes. Local authorities are working to restore water wells and contact desalination plant owners to restart facilities damaged by bombardment.
In Khan Younis, Mayor Alaa al-Batta announced that 85 percent of the city had been destroyed, leaving 400,000 tons of debris and massive damage to water and sewage networks.
Despite the ceasefire, Israeli drones and artillery fire killed and wounded several Palestinians on Saturday. Gaza’s Health Ministry reported 151 deaths and 72 injuries in the past 24 hours, raising the overall toll since October 7, 2023, to 67,682 killed and 170,033 injured.
