The Hamas terror group is reportedly losing its grip over Gaza’s smaller militant factions, according to Israeli military sources cited by the Jewish Chronicle on Wednesday.
The report reveals that smaller organizations like the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Mujahideen Brigades, the al-Nasser Salah al-Deen Brigades, and the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades have severed ties with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and are no longer following his directives. These splinter groups are believed to hold an undisclosed number of hostages.
Hamas currently retains control over approximately 20 living hostages, while the remaining captives are in the hands of these other factions. The Chronicle also reports that 22 handcuffed hostages are still believed to be alive out of the 108 originally taken into Gaza. These individuals are reportedly being used as human shields by Sinwar, protecting him from potential Israeli strikes. Israel has reportedly had several opportunities to target Sinwar but has refrained due to the risk to the hostages surrounding him.
Recent reports suggest that Sinwar has demanded guarantees for his safety as part of any ceasefire-hostage swap deal.
The Jewish Chronicle further notes that the smaller Gaza militant groups have been plotting a coup against Sinwar for months, driven by deep-seated disagreements over the terms of a potential ceasefire-prisoner swap deal. These disagreements include Hamas’s prioritization of its own members' release over those of other factions, the insistence on the release of all convicted terrorists from Israeli prisons, and the rejection of any deportation conditions for released prisoners.