Anti-Hamas activist accuses group of torturing members of Khan Younis clan amid post-ceasefire crackdown

Hamza al-Masri, an anti-Hamas Gazan activist in exile, accuses Hamas of torturing members of a southern Gaza clan who were taken into Hamas custody after some 20 Hamas operatives were killed in a clash with the clan in early October.

Al-Masri, who relies on a network of sources inside Gaza, says Hamas demanded the Khan Younis-area al-Majaida clan hand over nearly 100 members following the October 3 clash, during which Israel struck Hamas with drones as an anti-Hamas local militia fought alongside the clan.

Some al-Majaida clan members also surrendered themselves to Hamas after the clash to help “contain the crisis and prevent escalation,” al-Masri says.

It’s unclear how many al-Majaida clan members are actually alleged to have been held in Hamas custody. Al-Masri names three — Muhammad al-Majaida, Mahmoud al-Majaida and Rafiq al-Majaida — and says there are others unwilling to talk.

Appended to al-Masri’s report is footage of a man he identifies as Muhammad, who lies motionless in a bed with his arms and legs covered in bandages following what he endured in “the so-called ‘Hamas echoes slaughterhouse’ west of Khan Younis.”

Other torture sites used by Hamas include one facility located underneath Khan Younis’s Nasser Hospital, al-Masri says, citing “testimonies of the clan’s youth and some people close to Hamas.” They faced physical and mental torture, including having their nails pulled out, according to al-Masri.

A Gazan source familiar with the matter is quoted by Channel 12 saying that one of the sites had been repurposed following the October 9 ceasefire deal as a jail for “people who are considered opposed to Hamas — not just the al-Majaida clan, but also many residents of Khan Younis and the Strip’s center.”

On October 13, ten days after its clash with Hamas, the al-Majaida clan said it would surrender any unlicensed arms to Hamas “in light of unfortunate recent events.” The statement did not mention surrendering any people to Hamas, though it urged clan members to “abide by the law.”

Later in October, a Hamas interior ministry source cited by independent Egyptian media outlet Mada Masr said al-Majaida clan members were among the wanted individuals surrendered to Hamas by families seeking rapprochement with the group following the October 9 truce-hostage deal, as Hamas reasserted itself on its side of the Gaza ceasefire line.

It was unclear from the Mada Masr report if the families surrendering al-Majaida clan members to Hamas included the al-Majaida family itself.