"Hell still rages: Troops deployed; 'Repent before it's too late' (VIDEO)"

Images show dozens of Hamas fighters inside a hospital in southern Gaza during the release of Israeli hostages on Monday morning, and there were also reports of shootings and executions in other parts of the territory. Telegram channels linked to Hamas indicated that the targets were “collaborators and traitors,” referring to militias supported by Israel in the area, while armed Hamas members over the weekend engaged in bloody clashes with a powerful local family in Gaza City.

Additionally, Hamas fighters have strengthened their control in Gaza today after carrying out public executions, defying Israel’s claim that the war cannot conclude according to U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan unless militants are disarmed.

In a stark assertion of the group’s return to authority, fighters executed men accused of collaborating with Israeli forces. In one video, Hamas fighters forced seven men to kneel in front of a crowd in Gaza City and shot them in the back. A Hamas source confirmed the video’s authenticity.

It is unlikely that the violence will immediately threaten the current ceasefire agreement with Israel, but it raises significant concerns regarding Hamas’s disarmament—a key, though poorly defined, provision of the agreement—and the challenges that the new regional stabilization forces deployed in Gaza will face.

Trump gives green light

When asked by reporters aboard Air Force One about reports that Hamas is taking action against rivals to regain control over parts of Gaza, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that the militant Islamist organization is operating within the parameters of the ceasefire agreement.

“They want to stop the problems and have been open about it, and we gave them authorization for a certain period of time… You have nearly 2 million people returning to buildings that have been destroyed, and a lot of bad things could happen. That’s why we want it – we want it to be safe. I think it will be fine. Who knows for sure,” Trump said.

On Monday, the first steps of the initial phase of the new agreement were completed with the release of 20 living hostages by Hamas and their transfer to Israel. Israeli authorities have begun freeing around 2,000 prisoners, including 250 serving long-term sentences.

Hundreds of trucks carrying aid and commercial goods have entered Gaza since Sunday, leading to a drop in market prices. Famine was declared in parts of the territory in August, and humanitarian agencies say much larger stockpiles are urgently needed.

Looting by organized gangs or desperate communities has severely hampered aid distribution in Gaza for major humanitarian organizations, which were also constrained by Israeli restrictions and ongoing military operations.

The Israeli Defense Forces have already withdrawn to new positions and currently control slightly more than half of Gaza.

Much of the territory is in ruins, with the population now concentrated along the al-Mawasi coastal area, the heavily damaged central cities, and Gaza City. Hamas has maintained a significant degree of control over these three areas, even if the group has remained low-profile, according to Israeli military officials and senior humanitarian workers last month.

Menahem KAHANA / AFP / Profimedia

However, the militant group suffered significant losses during the two-year conflict with Israel, with most of its senior and mid-level military commanders, as well as thousands of lower-ranking fighters, killed. Israeli forces targeted police officers, and prisons were destroyed along with many other infrastructure facilities. Law and order have collapsed across much of Gaza, and armed families, clans, gangs, looters, and militias are becoming increasingly powerful.

Over the weekend, Hosam al-Astal, the leader of a new militia linked to Israel, spoke defiantly.

“To all of Hamas’ rats, your tunnels are destroyed, your rights no longer exist. Repent before it’s too late – from today onward, there is no Hamas,” he said in a social media post.

Al-Astal declined to speak when contacted on Monday.

Now vulnerable is also Yasser Abu Shabab, the leader of the so-called People’s Forces, a militia supported by Israel, based in southern Gaza. There are unconfirmed reports of punishment, beatings, and shootings targeting members of his faction.

A Hamas security official stated that a search for Abu Shabab is ongoing, adding that one of the fugitive leader’s aides was “eliminated” in recent days.

“The security campaign continues and is escalating until this matter is fully resolved, and no side will be allowed to break the law,” he said.

In a statement, the Ministry of Interior in Gaza, which has been under Hamas control since the group took power in 2007, said it is making efforts to restore “security and stability” in the territory, but that the “gates of repentance and general amnesty” are open to all those who joined “gangs” but were not involved in any killings.

“All concerned individuals must surrender to security services within a week in order to resolve their legal and security status and permanently close their files,” the ministry said.

Only one of the fighters seen on Monday escorting hostages to Red Cross vehicles appeared to be wearing Hamas insignia: a patch on his shoulder indicated he was a member of the elite unit of Hamas’ military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigade.

No Hamas flags or headbands were present, sharply contrasting with the highly staged hostage handovers earlier this year that Israel cited as justification for ending a short-term ceasefire.