Hamas security forces operating in Gaza following ceasefire

GAZA: Hamas police and security forces were operating in Gaza on Monday, the second day of a ceasefire with Israel in the war-battered territory, AFP journalists saw.

Hamas’s deputy interior minister for the territory, Mahmud Abu Watfah, inspected armed police, some in fatigues and others dressed in black, before they patrolled the bombed-out streets of Gaza City.

“We care about the comfort and protection of those who sacrificed with the resistance and paid a heavy price for this bloody war,” Abu Watfah said.

He said they also wanted “to control the situation on the ground in case of any chaos. This was achieved from the first hour of the deployment of the ministry of interior (forces) and the security forces.”

Israeli leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have repeatedly said that the goal of the war in Gaza was to dismantle Hamas’s military and governance capabilities.

Also read: Hamas will never govern Gaza: Trump’s national security adviser

They have insisted that those objectives will be met despite the ceasefire agreement, amid heavy criticism from far-right members of Netanyahu’s governing coalition who have demanded a resumption of military operations after the six-week first phase of the ceasefire ends.

The deal has brought a halt to more than 15 months of fighting sparked by Hamas’s surprise October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.