Hamas Carries Out Executions in Gaza

Shouts rang out with each gunshot as at least five individuals, hands bound, fell forward in a video shared to social media.

Following the release of the 20 living hostages from Gaza on Monday, Hamas reportedly began carrying out public executions of Gazans who it said had collaborated with Israel.  

“Hamas back to their regularly scheduled programming, murdering Gazans today,” Emily Schrader, American Israeli journalist and human rights activist, wrote on the social media platform X.  

Reuters also reported Hamas fighters have carried out public executions in a display of power in Gaza.  

Israeli officials say Hamas has already failed to meet the commitments of the agreed-upon ceasefire and hostage deal. Under the terms of the agreement, Hamas was expected to release all living and deceased hostages within 72 hours of the deal being agreed upon—a deadline that came and went Monday.

The remaining 20 living hostages were returned to Israel on Monday along with the remains of four hostages, leaving 24 other deceased hostages in Gaza.  

“The urgent mission to which we are all committed now is to ensure the return of all the abducted bodies home. Hamas’ announcement about the expected return of 4 bodies today is a failure to meet commitments,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X on Monday.  

The Red Cross has warned that it may take time to locate the remains of the bodies, and has even said the bodies may never be found. The bodies of four more hostages are expected to be returned Tuesday night.

Following Hamas’ failure to return all hostages’ remains by the agreed deadline, Israel reduced the amount of aid flowing into Gaza.  

Israel has told the United Nations, according to The Jerusalem Post, that it will allow 300 daily aid trucks into Gaza, a reduction from 600.  

“ALL TWENTY HOSTAGES ARE BACK AND FEELING AS GOOD AS CAN BE EXPECTED. A big burden has been lifted, but the job IS NOT DONE,” President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday afternoon. “THE DEAD HAVE NOT BEEN RETURNED, AS PROMISED! Phase Two begins right NOW!!!”  

“Phase Two” refers to the second phase of Trump’s peace deal between Israel and Hamas and is expected to include the demilitarization of Hamas and a permanent end to the war in Gaza.  

The Israel Defense Forces has pulled back to a designated “yellow line” inside Gaza. On Tuesday morning, the IDF reported an incident of suspects “spotted crossing the yellow line and approaching IDF troops in northern Gaza, a clear violation of the agreement.”  

“After multiple attempts to distance them, the suspects refused to comply, prompting troops to open fire to remove the threat,” according to the IDF.  

Despite the “clear violation” of the deal, the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas continues to hold.