Hamas Officer: We’ve Lost 80% of Gaza, 95% of Leaders Dead
A Hamas officer told the BBC the group has lost control of 80% of Gaza, with its leadership largely killed and internal security collapsed. Armed clans and gangs now dominate, and Israel has the upper hand as Hamas struggles to maintain any authority amid chaos.
By Kamaran Aziz
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — A senior officer from Hamas's security forces has told the BBC that the group has lost control over approximately 80% of the Gaza Strip, with armed clans increasingly filling the resulting power vacuum amid the ongoing Israeli military campaign.
According to the BBC's Rushdi Abualouf, the officer said in voice messages that Hamas's command and control systems had been devastated by months of sustained Israeli airstrikes, which began after the group's assault on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. "Let’s be realistic here — there’s barely anything left of the security structure. Most of the leadership, about 95%, are now dead... The active figures have all been killed," the officer said.
He further added: "So really, what’s stopping Israel from continuing this war? Logically, it has to continue until the end. All the conditions are aligned: Israel has the upper hand, the world is silent, the Arab regimes are silent, criminal gangs are everywhere, society is collapsing."
The officer, wounded early in the conflict and currently inactive due to health reasons, stated that Hamas attempted to reorganize during a 57-day ceasefire earlier this year but suffered additional setbacks after hostilities resumed in March. He described a total breakdown of internal security: "About the security situation, let me be clear: it has completely collapsed. Totally gone. There's no control anywhere."
He said the former Hamas-run Ansar security complex had been looted in the absence of enforcement: "They looted everything, the offices — mattresses, even zinc panels — and no one intervened. No police, no security."
The officer also reported the emergence of criminal gangs and armed clans asserting control across the enclave: "They could stop you, kill you. No one would intervene. Anyone who tried to act on their own... was bombed by Israel within half an hour. So, the security situation is zero. Hamas’s control is zero."
In one incident, at least 18 people were killed on June 26 in Deir al-Balah when Israeli drones targeted a Hamas police unit trying to enforce price controls and curb aid looting, according to witnesses and medics cited by the BBC. The Israeli army confirmed it had struck "several armed terrorists" of Hamas's Internal Security Forces.
Amid this disintegration, the officer highlighted the rise of at least six armed factions affiliated with local clans. One such group, led by Yasser Abu Shabab, has reportedly gained support from regional actors and the Palestinian Authority. Israeli officials have confirmed providing arms to Abu Shabab, prompting Hamas to place a bounty on his head.
Sources told the BBC that Abu Shabab is working to form a joint council with other factions to challenge Hamas's rule. A retired Palestinian security official claimed that Abu Shabab has been in contact with senior Palestinian intelligence officials and maintains ties with Mohammad Dahlan, a former Gaza security chief now in exile.
The Hamas officer warned of the growing internal threat: "For 17 years, Hamas made enemies everywhere. If someone like Abu Shabab can rally those forces, that could be the beginning of the end for us."
As Gaza plunges deeper into lawlessness, Hamas appears to be losing not only ground to Israel but also its grip over internal rivals seeking to fill the void left by its weakening rule.
