Hamas fighters visibly tightened their grip on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, staging a brutal public show of authority with executions of alleged collaborators, in defiance of Israeli demands that the militant group disarm under President Donald Trump’s recently brokered ceasefire agreement.
A graphic video, widely circulated late Monday, showed Hamas militants executing seven men accused of aiding Israel. In the footage, the accused were dragged into a circle of bystanders in Gaza City, forced to their knees, and shot from behind. A Hamas official confirmed the video’s authenticity, framing it as part of the group’s renewed efforts to restore order in the war-scarred enclave.
Residents reported that Hamas gunmen have reappeared in force along key roads, particularly those used for aid deliveries, and are re-establishing checkpoints and patrols after weeks of instability.
Palestinian security sources said the group has clashed with rival factions in recent days, leaving dozens dead as it reasserts control.
Although Israeli forces withdrew from urban areas following the truce announced last week, hostilities resumed Tuesday. Gaza health officials reported that Israeli drone fire killed five civilians inspecting their damaged homes near Gaza City, and an airstrike in Khan Younis left one dead and another injured.
Hamas denounced the incidents as ceasefire violations, while the Israeli military claimed the strikes targeted individuals who entered restricted zones despite warnings.
The renewed violence underscores the fragile state of Trump’s much-touted “historic dawn of a new Middle East.” While the U.S. president celebrated the ceasefire in a speech to Israel’s parliament on Monday, major sticking points remain—chief among them Hamas’s disarmament, the return of hostages, and Gaza’s long-term reconstruction.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted the war cannot truly end until Hamas surrenders its weapons and relinquishes control of Gaza—conditions that Hamas has unequivocally rejected. Netanyahu’s hardline stance derailed earlier peace efforts and now threatens the current truce.
In contrast, President Trump defended his deal, saying Hamas had been granted conditional approval to maintain local order to stabilize the region during the ceasefire.
“They want to stop the problems,” Trump said. “We gave them approval for a period of time.”
However, a peace summit in Egypt on Monday, co-hosted by Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, failed to deliver a breakthrough, with no agreement reached on creating an international security force or new governing body for Gaza.
Aid deliveries remain far below need, with humanitarian agencies warning of worsening conditions for Gaza’s 2.2 million residents, many of whom are on the brink of famine.
The UN reports over 68,000 deaths since the war began in October 2023, following a Hamas-led attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel and resulted in the capture of 251 hostages.
Though Hamas released the last 20 living hostages on Monday, Israel confirmed that four additional bodies were returned, including that of a Nepalese student. Officials now believe 23 hostages remain unrecovered and are presumed dead.
In Gaza, bodies continue to be pulled from the rubble. Civil defense officials say 250 corpses have been recovered since the ceasefire began, and entire neighborhoods remain flattened.
UNICEF spokeswoman Tess Ingram said relief efforts have started but stressed they fall far short of what’s required.
“We’ve delivered tents, tarps, hygiene kits,” she said. “But the needs are overwhelming. We hope for a significant scale-up this week.”
Meanwhile, in Israel, the joy over freed hostages has given way to grief, with families mourning the loss of loved ones whose remains may never be found. A special international task force is being assembled to search for bodies still trapped beneath rubble, underscoring that even amid ceasefire, Gaza remains haunted by war.
