Blood feud: Gaza clan executes Hamas policeman, Gazan reports say

Hamas’s Interior Ministry admitted that the policeman shot and wounded a Gazan while attempting to break up a clash between families.

 Crowds in the central Gaza Strip, February 8, 2025.  (photo credit: Ali Hassan/Flash90)
Crowds in the central Gaza Strip, February 8, 2025.
(photo credit: Ali Hassan/Flash90)

A member of Hamas’s police force was executed in Deir el-Balah after a local clan accused him of murdering one of its kin, raising political tensions in the Gaza Strip.

Social media was flooded with viral videos depicting the execution on Tuesday of Ibrahim Shaldan, a member of Hamas’s police, from point-blank range.

The execution was geo-located to have taken place near a known monument at the entrance to the city of Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, and Shaldan’s ID was photographed and made public. In the graphic video, three different executioners can be seen shooting, while the victim is seen holding a poster.

The affair began when the local Abusamra clan alleged that members of Hamas’s police force killed Abdulrahman Abusamra, a young man who was, according to the clan’s account, standing in line to buy flour.

The news of his killing spread quickly, and soon members of his clan claimed to have gotten hold of the alleged perpetrator, killing him from short range and claiming to avenge Abusamra’s blood.

However, it appears that the accounts were more complex than those told by the family. According to other Gazan channels, armed clashes between local clans began earlier on Tuesday at a shelter in Deir el-Balah, which apparently led to several deaths.

 Armed and masked Palestinians patrol and enforcing the law in the street in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, March 1, 2024 (credit: ABED RAHIM KHATIB/FLASH90)Enlrage image
Armed and masked Palestinians patrol and enforcing the law in the street in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, March 1, 2024 (credit: ABED RAHIM KHATIB/FLASH90)

Hamas claims responsibility

Nevertheless, Hamas has implicitly taken responsibility for the death of Abusamra. Following the execution, Hamas’s Interior Ministry, which oversees the police, issued a statement saying “the police are investigating the crime of the killing of a policeman while he was carrying out a mission to break up a fight, which led to the death of a civilian form his injuries in Deir el-Balah this noon. The police will be following up with the event to arrest the perpetrators, stressing that they will take all strong legal measures against the perpetrators of the heinous crime of killing a policeman while on duty.”

Some commentators online expressed their satisfaction with the execution.

“After the Abusamra family’s retribution against the killer, every Hamas member will think a million times before shooting someone from his own people, especially from the large families,” one wrote.


Stay updated with the latest news!

Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter


However, Hamas loyalists quickly turned to political tensions. One commenter named Abu Khaled wrote: “We must do away with the entire Abusamra clan,” while another one named Hameed took a screenshot from the video of the execution, adding: “Anyone who has names of those who appeared in the video of the murder of the shahid [martyr] today, please publish them so that they can be punished.”

He also said that one of those who appeared in the video was a Fatah member and a former employee of “the traitorous Ramallah [Palestinian] Authority.”

Finally, there were those who feared an escalation that would lead to an all-out civil war. One blogger named Muhammad wrote: “Hamas killed a young man from the Abusamra family without a trial or law, just as it killed dozens before him. The family is big and took revenge for their son immediately, so they killed the killer. Who is responsible for bringing Gaza to this state?”

This is not the first time in the last week that Gazan citizens have openly turned against Hamas. Last week, several protests took place in the northern Gaza Strip, with protesters openly calling for the removal of the terrorist organization from power; while, earlier this week, Hamas was accused of kidnapping, torturing, and murdering Odai al-Rabei, a 22-year-old Gazan dissident.

In both cases, Hamas leaders and loyalists accused those turning against the terrorist organization as “sellouts,” “traitors,” or “Zionists.”