Who are the Gaza clans opposing Hamas for control of the Strip?

On Sunday, fighting between members of the Abu Werda clan and Hamas near the Gaza port left three Hamas fighters and two clan members dead and dozens wounded.

The heaviest fighting took place in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City, where Hamas squared off against the powerful Doghmush clan. The fighting mostly centered around the al-Dhamsha compound in the heart of the neighbourhood.

By Sunday, reports indicated that at least 52 members of the clan had been killed, as well as 12 Hamas terrorists. According to videos coming out of the Strip, Hamas entered the families' territory using ambulances as cover.

“It’s a massacre,” one clan member’s daughter said. “They’re dragging people away, children are screaming and dying, they’re burning our houses.”

In parallel with the clashes, Hamas has been carrying out a series of orchestrated public executions. In a recent widely circulated video coming out of the Gaza Strip, eight men can be seen kneeling on the ground, blindfolded, surrounded by an enormous crowd shouting and chanting: “Allahu Akbar.”

The video goes on to show several masked Hamas gunmen executing the prisoners at point-blank range using their rifles.

According to reports, these public executions have been happening across the Strip, with hundreds of victims so far.

‘The most violent will win’

Lt. Col. (res) Maurice Hirsch, director of the Initiative for Palestinian Authority Accountability and Reform at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs and the former director of the Military Prosecution for the West Bank, explained that Hamas’s willingness to resort to extreme violence gives it an advantage in the ongoing civil war.

“Whoever is most violent will win. At the moment, it seems like Hamas, with its apparatus, is willing and is capable of being the most violent group without any kind of restrictions,” Hirsch told JNS. “Unless the other groups are willing to fight and protect themselves with the same methods, it is going to be very difficult to resist Hamas.”

The Hamas purges throughout the Strip have led to broad condemnations. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also used strong words in reference to the executions, saying, “Hamas has reverted to its well-known tactics of lying and of abusing families.” He called them an example of “Nazi terrorism.”

President Donald Trump also called out the killings, writing in a Truth Social post on Thursday, “If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them."

CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper also condemned the executions, calling on Hamas in a written statement Wednesday to “immediately suspend violence and shooting at innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza.” Cooper added that he had conveyed his concern to the mediators.

The clans

As the clan warfare drags on into its second week, it is emerging as a critical factor in the future of the Gaza Strip. The old clan structure, once dominant in vast swaths of the Middle East, survives to this day in Gaza and across Judea and Samaria.

“Each one of these groups has its own internal governance organisation, its own weapons, its own ability to fight for whatever part of the governance or economic sector that they can get,” Hirsch explained.

This form of tribal social organisation has historically mixed poorly with the emergence of Palestinian ideological blocs such as Hamas and Fatah, which have often led to clashes of loyalty.

Hirsch further noted that some of these clans have expanded to control vast swaths of the Gaza population.

“Each clan is obviously different, but at the largest scale, some of these clans get to 10,000-20,000 people. They're very substantial, influential players that control hundreds if not thousands of enforcers,” he observed.

Brig. Gen. (res.) Yosef Kuperwasser, the director of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS), explained that despite the significant influence of the tribes in Gaza society, “None of these clans poses a real threat to Hamas.

“Even after these two years of fighting, Hamas is still much more capable of organization and much better armed than the clans are,” Kuperwasser told JNS. “But in their areas or regions that they control, the families can pose a temporary obstruction.

“Also, some of these plans are operating in regions controlled by Israel, so there is no Hamas to oppose them,” he added.

Kuperwasser pointed out that despite the clans' inability to destroy Hamas, they are capable of significantly draining its resources and manpower.

“Even if Hamas is stronger than the clans, it is still taking quite serious casualties as a result of all the fighting. Hamas is definitely going to be weakened as a result of all this infighting,” Kuperwasser explained.

Five tribal bases of power have emerged as the central opposition to Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

• The central challenge to Hamas’s power in Gaza City is the Doghmush family. Widely considered the most powerful clan in Gaza City, the Doghmush have long had a tense relationship with Hamas. Its members have historically been associated with both Hamas and Fatah.

The clan is led by Mumtaz Doghmush, also known as Abu Muhammad, who once led the Popular Resistance Committees' armed wing in Gaza City. The clan rose to notoriety in 2006, when Abu Muhammad formed the Army of Islam faction as an independent militia under his control.

The Army of Islam played a key role in the June 2006 abduction of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. Mumtaz Doghmush later pledged the allegiance of his militia to the Islamic State.

Since Hamas seized power in the Strip in June 2007, the Doghmush have largely sustained an independent power base from Hamas. In early 2024, Hamas began accusing the Doghmush of collaborating with Israel, leading to the execution of Saleh Doghmush, the mukhtar of the clan, in March of that year.

• Another base of power revolves around the Hellis clan. Based in Shejaiya in Gaza City and politically affiliated with Fatah, the Hellis family has long been an adversary of Hamas. In past decades, it has suffered raids and armed retaliation by Hamas, including a 2008 incursion that left dozens dead and prompted many clan members to flee toward Israeli crossings.

In the wake of the current ceasefire, senior figure Rami Hellis allied with Ahmed Jundeya of another Shejaiya clan to launch an armed faction resisting Hamas control in sectors of the neighbourhood still under Israeli military influence. Some media estimate the Hellis-related force at around 400 men, though precise chain-of-command and full clan backing remain unverified.

• In the far north of the Strip, in Beit Lahia, Ashraf al-Mansi has also organised an anti-Hamas militia. Al-Mansi released a video on Tuesday denying reports that Hamas had attacked or arrested his fighters. He said claims of recent casualties were “false” and asserted that his group had seized control of several areas in the north, working to secure them so civilians could return home.

Addressing Hamas directly, al-Mansi warned that any of its members entering militia-held territory “will be treated the same way Hamas treats militia members.”

• In Khan Yunis, the al-Majayda clan has emerged as a major challenger to Hamas.

The Fatah-aligned clan has historically been a major broker in parts of central Gaza; however, in early October, armed clashes broke out between the clan and Hamas’s Arrow Unit enforcers, after Hamas shot several family members in the leg. The fighting resulted in the deaths of five clan members and 11 Hamas terrorists.

The clan's militia is led by Hossam al-Astaland, who has consistently challenged Hama’s rule in the Kizan al-Najjar neighbourhood of Khan Yunis. Al-Astal’s militia gained attention when the IDF struck a Hamas fighter who tried to attack his forces in Khan Yunis. According to Gazan reports, more than 22 Hamas terrorists were killed.

• The final major force opposing Hamas in the Gaza Strip is the Bedouin-aligned Popular Forces, under the control of Yasser Abu Shabab, operating in eastern Rafah city. Israel has acknowledged directly supplying support and weapons to Abu Shabab's militia throughout the war.

Due to access to weapons and financial support, Abu Shabab has managed to recruit hundreds of fighters in the enclave's south. His personal force is estimated at anywhere between 400 and 1,000 fighters. A spokesman for the militia recently said it was undeterred by Hamas’s purges.

“Just as Hamas gave in under pressure and agreed to release hostages, so too will it eventually give up its heavy weapons,” he said.

The future of Gaza

The sudden sharp escalation in clan warfare does not bode well for the planned disarmament of Hamas. Hamas has openly signalled its intent to reject the terms of Trump's ceasefire deal, which is conditioned on its full disarmament, saying that the current mobilisation is not a short-term measure but rather a general policy.

"We cannot leave Gaza to the mercy of thieves and militias backed by the Israeli occupation. Our weapons are legitimate. They exist to resist the occupation and will remain as long as the occupation exists,” a Hamas official told the BBC on Sunday.

Ahmad Sharawi, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), wrote in a recent press statement: “Hamas is now settling scores in Gaza. After two years of war, its terrorists have crawled out of their tunnels to confront those who opposed them. We’ve seen clans and armed militias challenge the group’s rule and its decision to bring devastation to the coastal enclave.

“This moment reveals that Hamas still intends to keep its weapons, a reality that must be addressed with clear benchmarks and enforcement mechanisms when phase two negotiations on disarmament begin,” he added.

Israel has not yet defined a concrete policy regarding the nascent clan warfare. According to reports, Jerusalem is currently in talks with the U.S. to set up safe zones behind the Yellow Line where Gazans who wish to flee the Hamas reign of terror may seek shelter.

However, some analysts have called on Israel to take a more proactive role in the clan conflict. In an interview with Ynet, a senior Israeli security official on Thursday called to "act now" to protect the Gaza clans that fought against Hamas during the war. "We must not abandon them to Hamas," he said.

Hirsch added that beyond Gaza, Israel's policy regarding the clan warfare may have a direct impact on the prospect of normalisation with various clans in the West Bank.

“If you're one of the tribal leaders in Judea and Samaria, then looking at what's happening now will make you very hesitant to openly move toward Israel when you don't know if you'll get that support in return,” he said.