Two Hamas security officers were injured on Monday in a gunfight with Islamic State loyalists in the Gaza Strip, according to several sources speaking to the news media.
One was reportedly severely wounded after being shot in the chest and shoulder, and the other was lightly wounded in his leg.
There are fears within Hamas that the gunfight, the first since its clampdown on pro-IS jihadists, is the harbinger of a more stringent response to the authorities’ persecution.
Late Monday night, as part of an ongoing campaign against IS sympathizers in Gaza, Hamas forces raided an apartment in Khan Younis, a town in the southern Gaza Strip, where jihadi activists were reportedly hiding.
The suspects opened fire on the officers who came to arrest them. They, in turn, having underestimated the suspects’ resistance, called for sizable backup. Two men were arrested.
Contacted by Breitbart Jerusalem, Salafi activist Abu Baker Almuhajer confirmed the report, saying that more than 180 activists have been arrested since Hamas’ anti-IS campaign began less than a month ago.
Almuhajer, a top jihadi activist in Gaza and Sinai, accused Hamas yet again of trying to “send a message to Egyptian intelligence” on the back of IS supporters.
“Hamas wants to be recognized as a member of the coalition of states and organizations fighting against Islam,” he said, adding that Qatar has been involved in Hamas’ rebranding effort.
“However, our best answer to Hamas and the nonbelievers who lead it is that every day dozens of their activists join our ranks,” he concluded.
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