While International Focus Shifts to the Iran Conflict, the Palestinian Terror Group Intensifies Systematic Oppression and Rebuilds Military Strength.

As global attention concentrates on escalating tensions between Iran and Western powers, Hamas has accelerated a brutal campaign to solidify its control over Gaza and suppress internal dissent. The Palestinian terror organization’s actions directly contravene the framework outlined in Donald Trump’s peace initiative, unveiled late last year and designed to end the Israel-Hamas conflict that began with the October 7, 2023 Iranian-backed invasion.

The Trump peace framework explicitly stipulated that “Hamas and other factions agree to not have any role in the governance of Gaza, directly, indirectly, or in any form. All military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt. There will be a process of demilitarization of Gaza under the supervision of independent monitors, which will include placing weapons permanently beyond use through an agreed process of decommissioning…”

The Trump administration and its newly created “Board of Peace,” however, have remained notably silent regarding Hamas’s systematic violations of these ceasefire provisions. This apparent acquiescence has emboldened the terror group to pursue an aggressive agenda: rearming its forces, rebuilding its institutional apparatus, and consolidating authoritarian control through intimidation, violence, and economic coercion against Gaza’s civilian population.

**A Familiar Pattern of Tyranny**

Hamas’s assault on Palestinians follows established patterns developed since the organization forcibly seized control of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority in 2007. The disparity between Hamas’s operational capacity and the international community’s governance framework is stark, as Middle East Monitor’s Ranjan Solomon observed this month:

“Hamas governs from within a shattered enclave of two million people. The Board of Peace governs from a conference table in Washington. Hamas collects shekels in taxes on smuggled goods; the Board has no independent revenue stream. Hamas integrates 10,000 police personnel into proposed structures; the Board must still wait for countries to commit personnel to a stabilization force. Hamas appoints governors and mayors; the Board awaits reports.”

**Systematic Revenue Extraction and Military Rebuild**

Hamas is reconstructing its financial foundation through extraction of taxes, levies, and customs duties on goods entering Gaza. Rather than directing these resources toward humanitarian reconstruction or civilian welfare, the organization is channeling funds toward military rearmament.

Reuters reported last month on an Israeli military assessment documenting Hamas’s consolidation strategy. According to Israeli officials, Hamas has exploited the October 2025 ceasefire to reassert dominance in areas vacated by Israeli forces. The report noted: “Hamas has named five district governors, all of them with links to its armed al-Qassam Brigades, according to two Palestinian sources with direct knowledge of its operations. It has also replaced senior officials in Gaza’s economy and interior ministries, which manage taxation and security, the sources said.”

Recent weeks have witnessed the redeployment of Hamas security forces on Gaza’s streets, signaling the organization’s return to de facto governance of the territory.

**A Campaign of Suppression**

Parallel to its institutional consolidation, Hamas has initiated a campaign of violence and intimidation targeting Palestinians who voice criticism. The terror organization has murdered, detained, beaten, and interrogated dozens of residents accused of speaking against the group.

A video that emerged recently documents Hamas operatives shooting an unidentified Palestinian in Deir al-Balah and subsequently denying him medical assistance—a scene emblematic of the organization’s lawless brutality.

Gaza-born political activist Hamza Howidy described the escalation in stark terms:

“Since the war with Iran began, Hamas’s thugs have intensified their brutal, savage, barbaric campaign against Gaza’s own residents. The people in this photo are just some of many who have been executed, shot, kidnapped, or brutally tortured in recent weeks. The list of atrocities grows by the day, and the sheer sadism on display goes beyond anything comprehensible (even for those of us who were born and raised in Gaza and saw Hamas’s brutality up close for years).”

Howidy highlighted what he characterized as deliberate amnesia among prominent international advocates: “What makes this even worse than the suffering of those victims itself is the silence of the people who built entire careers screaming about Palestinian suffering. The same commentators, the same ‘human rights advocates,’ the same influencers, and the same media outlets that spent months positioning themselves as the moral conscience of the world…have gone completely dark.”

He concluded: “The Palestinians left to die under Hamas’s boots are apparently the wrong kind of Palestinians, too inconvenient, too disruptive to the narrative, and too alive in ways that don’t serve ‘the cause’.”

**Demonstrating Control Through Terror**

On March 12, fellow Gaza-born activist Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib characterized a Hamas police deployment as a deliberate intimidation tactic: “Hamas terrorists conducted a parade in their trucks inside the al-Mawasi tent zone for the displaced. These gunmen are the same ones who are killing, kidnapping, torturing, and shooting Gazans every single day; they’re making their presence known to say ‘shut up & pay us taxes’!”

Alkhatib documented a specific case of state violence against dissent. His friend Ashraf Naser Shallah was subjected to torture by Hamas members for criticizing the organization and refusing participation in what Alkhatib termed “failed Jihadi ideologies.”

The case of Asa’ad Abu Mahadi exemplifies the arbitrary nature of Hamas violence. Shot by Hamas militia at a checkpoint on March 10, Abu Mahadi died in hospital after two days of fighting for his life. His nephew, Waseem Abu Mahadi, lamented: “My uncle was not involved in politics or any faction. He was a peaceful man who loved his family and tried to live a normal life…A mistake. As if shooting at a civilian’s car is just an unfortunate accident.”

In another incident, Hamas members assaulted Mohammed Abu Amra inside al-Aqsa Hospital, restraining him to his bed while medical personnel were prevented from administering proper care.

**The International Silence**

As long as global attention remains diverted to other crises, Hamas operates with virtual impunity. The organization has evidently calculated that international preoccupation creates space for reconstruction without meaningful oversight or consequences. The longer this silence persists, the more entrenched Hamas’s authority becomes.

Hamas’s intentions are unambiguous: the organization has demonstrated no commitment to disarmament, democratization, or relinquishing power. Any durable resolution to Gaza’s future requires direct confrontation with this reality. Without it, peace frameworks remain theoretical exercises divorced from operational fact.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)