Hamas defends executions of Palestinians after Trump issues stern warning to terror group

18 Oct 2025 By foxnews

FIRST ON FOX: As a senior Hamas official defended the group's crackdown on Palestinians in Gaza on Friday in an interview with Reuters, a Gazan lawyer in hiding from the terrorists warned that the killings of the group's critics are continuing.

In an exclusive interview from Gaza, Moumen Al-Natour, a lawyer, former Hamas political prisoner and president of Palestinian Youth for Development, said Hamas resurfaced from underground tunnels after the ceasefire. "After the fire stopped, Hamas fighters came out of the tunnels and massacred families that opposed them," he said. "They are sending a signal that they are back - by terrorizing people."

In defending the executions, the Hamas terrorist official, Mohammed Nazzal, told Reuters on Friday that there were always "exceptional measures" during the war and those executed were criminals guilty of killing.

HAMAS ACCEPTS TRUMP PEACE PLAN ENDING 2 YEARS OF WAR IN GAZA, RETURNING HOSTAGES

On Thursday, President Donald Trump issued a warning on Truth Social after footage circulated online showing Hamas fighters executing Palestinians in Gaza City's main square. "If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them," he wrote.

According to Reuters, at least 33 people were executed by Hamas in recent days in what officials described as a campaign to "show strength" after the ceasefire. Israeli sources say most of those killed belonged to families accused of collaborating with Israel or supporting rival militias.

Al-Natour, the co-founder of the "We Want To Live Movement," said several local militias are still resisting the group across Gaza. In Rafah, the Abu Shabab clan has drawn attention for recruiting fighters and resisting Hamas's control. In Gaza City, the Doghmush clan has clashed repeatedly with Hamas terrorists. In Khan Younis, the Mujaida clan has also been involved in armed confrontations.

Some members tied to the Hellis network in Gaza City are operating in neighborhoods under tension with Hamas. These factions do not hold stable territory, but their sporadic resistance - from raids to armed standoffs - signals the first cracks in Hamas's grip.

"These militias come from the population," Al-Natour said. "They need recognition and coordination to form a political umbrella - a transitional body that governs these areas and organizes their security."

He said he and others are trying to operate under what he called Trump's peace framework, forming safe zones inside Gaza where civilians unaffiliated with Hamas can access food, aid, and protection. "We can build a governing body in these zones," he said. "But those of us who speak out are hunted. The people Hamas is killing now are just like me - Palestinians who dared to speak."

Joseph Braude, president of the Center for Peace Communications, said Hamas is using the post-war lull to settle old scores. "It's a dark time for Hamas's many opponents in Gaza," he told Fox News Digital. "They're exploiting this moment to reassert dominance through brute force. They killed a pregnant woman about 18 hours ago. It is indiscriminate killing designed simply to sow fear in ordinary people"

His organization released a video on X featuring an interview with a Gazan who described how Hamas killed a 5-year-old child as part of its campaign against opponents.

TRUMP UNVEILS 20-POINT PLAN TO SECURE PEACE IN GAZA, INCLUDING GRANTING SOME HAMAS MEMBERS 'AMNESTY'

Braude described Gaza's reality as bifurcated. Reconstruction, he explained, could begin in the areas behind the yellow line - territory now under Israeli supervision - while fighting continues elsewhere. "This is the scenario envisioned in the 20-point plan," he said. "Gazans opposed to Hamas, including those who have taken up arms in that struggle, can help form enclaves of self-rule that evolve into a transitional authority with international support."

He predicted that a coalition of anti-Hamas militias, supported by air cover from Israel and possibly private contractors, will carry out the remaining ground battles. "There is no conceptual return to the pre-Oct. 7 approach," he added.

Michael Milshtein, head of the Palestinian Studies Forum at Tel Aviv University and a former IDF intelligence officer, said Hamas has seized the clans' weapons and money, much of it originating from Israel, drawing parallels to Hezbollah's takeover of southern Lebanon in 2000. "This leaves Israel in a dilemma," he warned. "If the Israeli military ends up protecting these clans, we risk starting another war with Hamas. If we abandon them, we may have to absorb them later, like the allies we evacuated from Lebanon."

He called the initiative "a tragic example of acting without understanding Gaza's reality."

Gazans who spoke anonymously to Fox News Digital described chaos and fear. One man said "gangs are in the streets" and warned that another internal war could erupt. Another said, "No one knows who will rule or what will happen next. We just want to live without bloodshed."

Trump's team has framed the Gaza ceasefire as the foundation for lasting peace. But with executions, clan wars, and new militias emerging, officials and residents alike say the post-war phase may test whether that peace can hold - or whether Gaza is entering yet another cycle of terror and revenge.

Reuters contributed to this report.