Protesters in Gaza target Hamas
For the first time since Hamas seized power 18 years ago, Gazans are speaking out against Hamas at great personal risk, Fox News’ Mike Tobin reports.
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Dozens of people have been killed in Gaza during violent fighting on Sunday and within hours of the expected release of hostages in the war-torn region, according to local reports.
Clashes between local militias also occurred before a televised address in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the impending hostage release “the beginning of a new path.”
The Israeli President warned, “The campaign is not over. We still face huge security challenges.”
Local people said that families were running away in panic due to the firing.
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Hamas launched an attack on Gaza’s Sabra neighborhood targeting the Doghmush clan over alleged Israeli support, killing dozens amid ceasefire tensions. (Moise Salhi/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“This time people were not fleeing Israeli attacks. They were fleeing their own people,” an eyewitness told the BBC.
According to reports from Israeli outlet Ynet, the violence erupted when Hamas militants raided the neighborhood of Sabra in Gaza City, home to a clan called the Doghmush, also known as the Al Doghmush family militia.
Reports said Hamas’ interior ministry had accused a militia of attacking its forces, while members of the Doghmush clan said Hamas had taken advantage of the ceasefire to target them over alleged collaboration with Israel.
“Children are screaming and dying, they are burning our houses,” a relative of the clan told YNET.
Another member said, “We are trapped. I don’t know how they broke in with all kinds of weapons. Where were the Jews when they were here? They arrested all the young people, made them stand in front of the walls, pointed weapons at their heads. There has been a massacre here.”
Overall, Ynet reported that 52 members of the Doghmush clan were killed and 12 Hamas militants were killed.
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Militants celebrate a ceasefire in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah, January 19, 2025. (TPS-IL)
Hamas’ television channel claimed that among those killed was blogger Salah al-Ja’farwi, who had reportedly celebrated the October 7 attacks online. The militant-run station claimed the blogger was shot dead by “armed gangs operating outside the law” while covering the conflict.
The son of senior Hamas official Bassem Naim was also killed, the Jerusalem Post reported.
“We still say – you should not shed the blood of Muslims by any Muslim,” a senior member of the clan told YNET.
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At least 64 people reportedly killed in Gaza fighting. (Hassan Djedi/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Hamas’ Ministry of the Interior and National Security later announced an “amnesty framework” allowing militia members and criminals not involved in the bloodshed to surrender by the following Sunday, warning that those who do not comply will be “severely punished.”
Amid the bloodshed, three anti-Hamas militias publicly declared their support for President Trump’s peace proposal rejecting Hamas’ authority in the Gaza Strip.
Israel said Hamas was expected to release the Red Cross’s 20 surviving hostages by 5 a.m. Eastern (noon in Gaza) on Monday.
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The hostages would be transported in six to eight vehicles under Red Cross surveillance and handed over to Israeli forces inside Gaza. They will then be flown to southern Israel to be reunited with loved ones.
Fox News Digital has contacted the Israeli government for comment.
