Urban Gaza Confrontations Involving Palestinian Movement and Family Fighters Result in 27 Lives Lost.

A minimum of 27 people have been lost in violent confrontations between Hamas armed units and fighters of the Dughmush tribe in Gaza City, marking among the deadliest internal clashes since the conclusion of large-scale Israeli military actions in the enclave.

Masked Hamas fighters exchanged fire with tribal combatants near the city's Jordanian hospital, according to local sources.

Official Account

A top authority in the Hamas-run interior ministry stated that security forces blockaded them and engaged in heavy fighting to detain them. The ministry reported that eight of its members were killed in "a violent offensive by a militia".

Medical sources confirmed that nineteen Dughmush tribe militants and 8 Hamas militants had been lost their lives since violence erupted on Saturday.

Eyewitness Testimonies

Observers reported that the clashes erupted in the Tel al-Hawa area in the southern part of Gaza City after a Hamas unit of over 300 militants advanced to attack a apartment building where Dughmush militants were fortified.

Local inhabitants described chaotic situations as numerous households evacuated their residences under intense shooting, with a significant number having been relocated repeatedly during the war.

"In this instance residents weren't escaping Israeli assaults," one resident stated. "They were fleeing from their own people."

Existing Tensions

The Dughmush family, a significant Gaza family, has long had a tense relationship with Hamas, and its fighter elements have engaged in violence with the organization on multiple instances in the earlier periods.

The Hamas-run interior ministry stated its forces were seeking to restore order, cautioning that "all militant actions beyond the structure of the resistance" would be handled strictly.

Contradictory Accounts

The two parties leveled charges over who initiated the violence for instigating the violence.

The organization initially reported that Dughmush militants fatally wounded two of its combatants and injured five more personnel, prompting the organization to initiate an action against them.

However, a Dughmush clan insider stated to regional press that Hamas fighters had come to a building that previously functioned as the Jordanian Hospital, where the clan had taken refuge after their homes in the al-Sabra area were destroyed in the previous Israeli assault.

The source asserted that the authority attempted to remove the tribe from the building to set up a fresh headquarters for its units there.

Larger Background

Hamas has recalled around 7,000 fighters of its security forces to reinforce authority over Gaza territories recently vacated by Israeli troops, according to regional insiders.

Information indicates that armed Hamas units have been stationed across multiple areas, with particular units in non-uniform clothing and others in the blue uniforms of the Gaza police. The Hamas media office denied that it was deploying "fighters in the streets".