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Hamas Publicly Executes Three Gazans Accused of Collaborating With Israel
Palestinian Hamas terrorists stand guard on the day of the handover of hostages held in Gaza since the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack, as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 22, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
Hamas–led authorities in Gaza have executed three men accused of collaborating with Israel, a Palestinian official said, as the terrorist group seeks to crush rising challenges from Palestinian militias it says are working against it with Israeli support.
Two years into the Gaza war and with Hamas under relentless Israeli military pressure, small bands of armed Palestinians opposed to the Islamist group have surfaced in several parts of Gaza where they have been operating against it, according to residents and sources close to Hamas and to the groups.
In a video circulated on social media showing the executions, a masked man is seen issuing a warning to “all collaborators” before the three men, kneeling and blindfolded, are kicked onto their fronts and shot in front of a crowd.
Reuters confirmed the location as Gaza City by the buildings, a gas station, road layout, and signs seen in the video which matched file and satellite imagery of the area.
The Palestinian security official from the Hamas-run Gaza government said the executions were carried out on Sunday by the “Joint Operations Room of the Palestinian resistance.”
The videos showed “revolutionary rulings” being implemented against people for security collaboration with Israel, it said.
The executions aimed to send “a clear message and serve as a deterrent to anyone tempted to collaborate with the occupation.”
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
During the war, Hamas said it has publicly punished people for crimes including looting and collaboration with Israel. This video marked one of the most graphic demonstrations of this.
The Israeli military launched a ground offensive in Gaza City last week, pressing its campaign to defeat the group which sparked the war when it launched the Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
ANALYST SAYS EXECUTIONS REFLECT ‘DEEP’ HAMAS CONCERN
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly said in June that Israel is arming clans that oppose Hamas, without saying which.
The most prominent anti-Hamas rebel is Yasser Abu Shabab, based in Rafah in southern Gaza, an area controlled by Israel. He has denied receiving Israeli support or contacts with the Israeli army.
The Palestinian security official said some of the men executed on Sunday had ties to Abu Shabab.
Abu Shabab’s organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent via its Facebook page.
Palestinian analysts say Hamas, though weakened, could swiftly suppress rival groups if a ceasefire were reached, but while the war continues, it struggles to do so — especially as those groups move freely in Israeli-controlled parts of Gaza.
Abu Shabab’s armed group recently advertised on social media for recruits with police and security experience, promising monthly salaries from 3,000 to 5,000 shekels ($890 to $1,500).
Other groups opposed to Hamas have emerged in Beit Lahiya and Shejaia in northern Gaza, and in eastern Khan Younis in the south, sources close to Hamas and residents say.
Palestinian analyst Akram Attallah said the executions indicate that Hamas is deeply worried, especially as these groups now operate beyond their usual areas and their attacks show more capability and a rising threat to the movement.
($1 = 3.3489 shekels)
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.