Hamas continues to consolidate its power in areas of Gaza untouched by IDF operations or vacated by the IDF following military operations. Recent reports reveal that the group is distributing payments at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, an area where the IDF has refrained from engaging directly since the onset of the war.
In a public announcement, Hamas declared the initiation of financial distributions. Beneficiaries include the injured and families of those killed in the so-called “Marches of Return,” families of martyrs, as well as individuals who lost their jobs due to the ongoing war.
The payments are being handed out at the hospital in Deir al-Balah, a location the IDF has avoided targeting due to concerns that IDF activity could endanger hostages reportedly being held there. This lack of military intervention has allowed Hamas to maintain a relatively strong presence there .
In addition to distributing funds, Hamas has launched efforts to combat looters in order to further solidify its authority in Gaza. The organization’s "Saham" unit has been tasked with cracking down on thieves and addressing price gouging in Gaza’s markets.
“This topic is almost completely absent from Israeli media,” wrote Daniel Vachtel, who translates Gazans’ tweets on his Twitter account. “Yet this is one of the three most dominant issues currently concerning Gazans.”
According to the posts Vachtel has published, residents of Gaza believe that looters are being deployed by Israel's IDF and Shin Bet to raid and empty the aid trucks. Consequently, any Hamas action against these looters receives strong public support.
While the IDF has publicized the fact that Hamas uses Gaza’s hospitals as command centers, it has repeatedly enabled pro-Hamas organizations to restore them. These organizations have assisted Hamas in reoccupying and restoring these hospitals, forcing Israeli forces to retake the same locations multiple times.
A month ago, the IDF conducted a raid on the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza. According to an official IDF statement, the hospital served as “a hub for the resumption of Hamas operations in the area.” This is not the first time the IDF has carried out a military operation at the hospital: at the start of the war IDF forces arrested the hospital’s director, Ahmad Kahlout, who admitted during interrogation that he had been recruited to Hamas ranks nearly 15 years ago and now holds the rank of an “ameed” (brigadier general) within the organization. Kahlout revealed that the hospital grounds housed the offices of senior Hamas military and political leaders, rooms for imprisoning hostages, and ambulances used by Hamas.
The Kamal Adwan Hospital, located at the edge of Jabalia-Beit Lahia, along with the nearby Indonesian Hospital, has been renovated in recent months under the guise of aid provided by “humanitarian organizations”. Just a few months ago, HaKol HaYehudi exposed the involvement of the “humanitarian aid” organization Talaf Al-Khair, an organization whose members are openly supportive of Hamas, in carrying out the renovation of the Indonesian Hospital. At the start of the war the IDF revealed that the Indonesian Hospital was a major center of Hamas operations, housing pickup trucks that were used in the October 7 attack, blood-soaked vehicles belonging to hostages, and underground Hamas infrastructure.
