(((Hans)))

REVEALED: The scandal surrounding Gaza's failed winterization efforts lays bare a grim reality: Hamas obstructed attempts to protect Palestinian civilians before the devastating winter storms that flooded tens of thousands of tents. Palestinian Authority employees inside Gaza have reported that professionals from the Ministries of Public Works and Relief Affairs were intimidated, summoned, and coerced by Hamas into signing pledges not to undertake humanitarian projects without the group's approval. According to their accounts, those who defied Hamas risked so-called "field justice," including beatings and worse. Several officials, including Najla Hammad, Ihab Al-Bahtiti, Khaled Abu Safiya, Wiam Aboul-Nasr, Dr. Adnan Hamouda, and Ahmed Abu Zaiter, have publicly stated that efforts to build more durable fiberglass housing and improve conditions for displaced civilians were blocked. Another example was a proposal that was put forward to demolish several heavily damaged towers which were at risk of collapse from rainwater after extensive bombardment. According to those involved, Hamas blocked the removal of the “Bank of Palestine Tower” in Gaza City's Rimal neighborhood, reportedly arguing that it would "collapse from the rain anyway." The terrorist group did not show any concern for the civilian lives that would be lost when the tower eventually collapses on its own, because it wants dead Palestinians and news of tragedy to keep Gaza in the news cycle and to gain global sympathy, hoping for more incoming resources and donations for the Strip’s humanitarian and reconstruction needs that it could siphon. Additionally, Hamas has also been accused of obstructing construction projects intended to create safer communities for displaced Gazans in southern Gaza, prioritizing political control over humanitarian relief. This is a reminder that Gaza's suffering is not only a consequence of war. It is also the result of a fascist and ruthless governing power that repeatedly places its own interests above the welfare of the people it claims to represent. The same terror group that helped bring catastrophe upon Gaza continues to obstruct efforts to mitigate its consequences. As floodwaters sweep through displacement camps and families endure another winter in misery, the question is unavoidable: how many Palestinian lives could have been spared had Hamas allowed humanitarian, housing, and reconstruction efforts to proceed unimpeded?

This was a disturbing and deeply embarrassing scene in Gaza City today during the funeral of a man killed in an Israeli airstrike for allegedly being affiliated with Hamas. Members of his clan fired thousands of rounds into the air, initially causing panic and confusion among residents who did not understand what was happening. The spectacle of armed men recklessly discharging weapons sparked widespread anger and contempt among many Gazans, who viewed it as yet another example of the destructive behavior of powerful clans in the Strip. The incident renewed calls to disarm Gaza's clans and militias and remove weapons from civilian hands to reduce crime, curb intra-Palestinian violence, strengthen the rule of law, and break patterns of behavior that fuel radicalization, intimidation, and the dominance of armed actors over civil society. Many Palestinians bitterly note the irony that these same clans and armed strongmen, so eager to display their power before fellow Palestinians, tend to disappear when confronted by the Israeli military. Time and again, tribal militias, criminal gangs, and other armed actors avoid direct confrontation with the IDF, yet readily turn their weapons on other Palestinians, whether against Palestinian Authority forces in the past or, at times, even against Hamas itself. There should be no tolerance for lawlessness. Neither "martyrs" nor their families have the right to terrorize an entire society in the name of archaic notions of honor, death glorification, or tribal privilege. Hamas and Gaza's powerful clans alike must be disarmed, for the sake of Palestinians and Israelis alike.