Hamas’s internal security apparatus announced that security forces in the Gaza Strip are preparing to execute a number of agents and collaborators with Israel in Gaza City.
According to the report, the purpose of the planned executions is to weaken Israel’s intelligence-gathering capabilities ahead of a possible Israeli military operation in the area.
It was previously reported that Palestinian Arabs who had served as informants for Israel revealed during interrogations that Israel may be preparing a preemptive strike aimed at taking control of Gaza City.
The report also noted that Israel frequently uses advanced technological methods in its targeted eliminations of armed operatives, primarily by tracking mobile phone signals.
In response, Hamas reportedly advised its operatives to avoid carrying mobile phones or to keep them powered off in an effort to evade Israeli surveillance and tracking.
Hamas regularly carries out executions in the Gaza Strip, even though all execution orders must be approved by Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who is based in Ramallah and who imposed a moratorium on executions several years ago.
Hamas no longer recognizes Abbas’s legitimacy, and has in the past emphatically declared that the death penalty in Gaza can be carried out without his consent.
Most of Hamas’s executions have been of alleged “Israeli spies”. In September of 2022, Hamas authorities executed two Palestinian Arabs who were convicted of assisting Israel by giving it information that resulted in the deaths of two people.
In May of 2023, a military court in the Gaza Strip sentenced several Palestinian Arabs who were convicted of providing information to Israel to be executed by hanging and by firing squad.
In July, Hamas's internal security "deterrence" unit announced it carried out a series of "high-quality" operations, during which 12 individuals were executed for alleged collaboration with Israel and involvement in criminal activity.