Anti-Hamas Gaza militias reject terror group, declare support for Trump's peace plan

This comes amid reports of heavy fighting last week between an anti-Hamas clan and terrorists from the jihadi Hamas movement in a neighborhood in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip that could mark a sea change in local governance in the war-ravaged area. 

The full-throttle support from the anti-Hamas militias for Trump's plan could potentially mean more trouble for the terrorist movement that has ruled Gaza with an iron fist for the last 17 years.

Ashraf Al-Mansi, leader of the Popular Northern Forces, said, "We, in the People's Army, Northern Forces in the Gaza Strip, extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to U.S. President Donald Trump." 

Rami Hillis, the leader of the Popular Defense Forces, said his organization and the honorable clans in the Gaza Strip "will exert our utmost efforts and our capabilities to ensure the success of this proposal." Two years ago, on Oct. 7, the Hamas terrorist movement invaded Israel and slaughtered roughly 1,200 people, including more than 40 American citizens.

"This marks the first time that anti-Hamas militias have proven on the ground their ability to challenge Hamas in open combat and to expel them from their areas. We have seen minor clashes before, but this seems to mark a major escalation," said Michael Nahum from CPC.

According to the CPC, the infamous Hamas "Sahm Unit," which is "known for brutally suppressing Gazan dissident voices, went to Khan Younis" with the goal of arresting local Palestinians and "transferring them to a hospital for interrogation and possible execution." 

On the same day as the clashes, Israel Defense Forces disclosed that Hamas had built sophisticated terrorist tunnels on the compounds of two hospitals - the Jordanian Field Hospital and Hamad Hospital - in the Gaza Strip. The tunnel adjacent to the Jordanian hospital contained a workshop for the production of missiles. The use of hospitals and medical facilities as weapons areas by Hamas is considered a war crime under the Geneva Convention.

Hamas claims it entered Khan Younis to detain Palestinians who are collaborating with Israel. The al-Mujaida clan in southern Gaza resisted the Hamas assault of roughly 50 Hamas terrorists aboard five pickup trucks armed to the teeth, including with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Hamas reportedly murdered five members of the large al-Mujaida family.

The anti-Hamas militias have reportedly received support from Israel. Nahum said they are growing, and there are now four and probably as many as 10 militias across the Gaza Strip. "For the first time in a generation, we really might be looking at the end of Hamas rule in Gaza," said Nahum.