STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Now let's talk about the other war in Gaza. Hamas is waging it on local rivals. NPR's Daniel Estrin reports that this gunfire is part of the purge.
(SOUNDBITE OF GUNFIRE)
DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE: First came the gun battles - Hamas fighting a rival militia in the streets, captured on video. Then came the field executions.
(SOUNDBITE OF CROWD SHOUTING)
ESTRIN: In this video, young men are ordered to kneel in the streets with their hands tied, shirts pulled over their heads. A crowd cheers as masked gunmen shoot them in the head.
(SOUNDBITE OF GUNFIRE)
ESTRIN: Hamas accused them of working for Israel. NPR's Anas Baba witnessed one public execution last week in Gaza City.
ANAS BABA, BYLINE: I saw myself with my bare eyes, a group of Hamas fighters in one of Gaza's streets execute four blindfolded and handcuffed people after the fighters themselves announced that they were members of militias called Doghmush militia.
ESTRIN: There are several militias in Gaza associated with family clans. Some have longstanding feuds with Hamas. Others emerged during the war as Hamas militants went underground. Ibrahim Abrash is a Gaza political analyst.
IBRAHIM ABRASH: (Non-English language spoken).
ESTRIN: He says, "the absence of Hamas militants in parts of Gaza led to the formation of groups that hate Hamas and seek revenge. And Israel found these groups to be useful." Israel has admitted to arming the Abu Shabab militia to counter Hamas. That cooperation has become even more sensitive now as Hamas targets Palestinian militias. Israeli military spokesman Nadav Shoshani.
NADAV SHOSHANI: The reality is Hamas is just shooting people in the head in broad daylight because they don't like what they're doing. We have an ongoing process to find alternatives to Hamas, but that is something I won't be speaking about too much publicly here.
ESTRIN: He would not say if Israel is supporting the very groups Hamas is going after now.
(SOUNDBITE OF CROWD SHOUTING)
ESTRIN: Hamas says its crackdown is a campaign to restore stability in the wake of the war. In Gaza City, there's broad support for the crackdown. These groups are widely seen as criminal gangs that stole humanitarian aid or as traitors compelled to collaborate with Israel. Gaza resident Mahmud Elhadidi (ph).
MAHMUD ELHADIDI: (Non-English language spoken).
ESTRIN: "I support Hamas bringing them in and holding them accountable, but not killing them," he said. The public score settling sends a clear message to those who protested Hamas throughout the war, says political analyst Mkhaimar Abu Sada, who fled from Gaza to Egypt during the war.
MKHAIMAR ABU SADA: The way that Hamas publicized the executions is meant to intimidate the Palestinians to shut up their mouth. If anyone dares to protest against Hamas, this is what they're going to get.
ESTRIN: President Trump supported Hamas' crackdown at first, but now the U.S. position is that it violates the ceasefire. The U.S. still hasn't stood up a real plan to demilitarize Hamas. The Hamas crackdown makes clear Hamas still has weapons and still wields control over Palestinians in Gaza. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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