Gazans Report Hamas Recruiting Armed Teenagers and Reasserting Control

Gazans interviewed on Sunday said Hamas has begun recruiting teenagers and young men aged 18 to 20, paying some NIS 600-700 and deploying masked gunmen at street junctions. Residents said armed Hamas personnel are again operating in civilian clothing, using command-and-control sites inside hospital compounds and suppressing critics through threats and shootings. An anti-Hamas militia commander in Khan Younis said the group will not surrender its weapons. Residents also said Hamas is financing its renewed control by imposing levies on merchants, sometimes taking 18% to 40%.