Hamas Operating Underground Prisons to Crush Internal Dissent

by Worthy News Jerusalem Bureau Staff

(Worthy News) – Hamas has begun detaining and torturing its rivals in underground prison facilities in Gaza, stepping up its internal repression even as the ceasefire with Israel holds, Israel Hayom reported Thursday.

Sources in Gaza revealed that residents suspected of disloyalty or subversion are being abducted and held in subterranean cells where they are deprived of food, water, and sunlight. Detainees are reportedly denied any legal process or notice prior to arrest.

The campaign to stamp out dissent is being led by Hamas’s Sahem (“Arrow”) Unit — a 1,000-member force established in 2024 under Hamas’s so-called Interior Ministry. Many of its fighters were transferred from the elite Nukhba units of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing.

According to Asharq Al-Awsat, several Hamas field commanders were killed recently in central Gaza refugee camps after receiving orders to pursue rival clans in northern Gaza. The Sahem Unit has also absorbed members of Hamas’s police apparatus and recruited unaffiliated Gazans, especially from Jabaliya, to extend control through arrests, executions, and intimidation.

In several cases, the Sahem Unit has carried out assassinations of opposition leaders and public executions of protest figures, with footage circulated by Hamas-linked outlets to instill fear. Officially, the force is tasked with tracking and “neutralizing” alleged collaborators, but insiders describe it as a secret police unit dedicated to crushing Hamas’s domestic opponents.

This week, Hamas announced that it had arrested members of the “Popular Forces” militia led by Yasser Abu Shabab and seized their military equipment. The group has yet to respond publicly.

The Sahem Unit’s founder and commander, Zakr Ahmad Fuad Talib, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in June on Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood. Despite heavy losses, Hamas continues to replenish its leadership ranks.

On Sunday, Israel Hayom reported that Hamas appointed Tayseer al-Batsh — a former Hamas police chief injured in an Israeli airstrike in 2014 — as its new “interior minister.” His first assignment, according to Palestinian sources, is to lead a brutal crackdown on the powerful Doghmush clan in Gaza City.

The revelations highlight the terror group’s deepening internal paranoia and its growing use of underground infrastructure — once dedicated to fighting Israel — to imprison and eliminate its own people.

Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.

Latest News from Worthy News

Dutch Town Reels After 13-Year-Old Girl Detained In Parents’ Deaths

Saturday, June 20, 2026

A Dutch community remained in shock Saturday after a 13-year-old girl was detained following the discovery of her parents’ bodies in their home in the northern Netherlands.

Bolivia Declares State Of Emergency As Deadly Protests Paralyze Nation

Saturday, June 20, 2026

Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz declared a 90-day state of emergency Saturday, empowering the military to clear road blockades after nearly 50 days of anti-government protests that have included widespread road blockades, leaving at least 14 people dead and crippling the nation’s economy.

Deadly Storm Batters Western Europe With Record Lightning, Widespread Damage

Saturday, June 20, 2026

A powerful thunderstorm system sweeping across Western Europe killed at least one person in the Netherlands, injured several others in Belgium and Germany, and caused widespread damage as nearly 190,000 lightning flashes illuminated the skies, authorities said Saturday.

Israeli Strikes Kill 10 In Lebanon Despite Ceasefire; US-Iran Deal Faces Test (Worthy News Focus)

Saturday, June 20, 2026

Israeli strikes killed at least 10 people in Lebanon on Saturday despite a ceasefire that took effect hours earlier, officials said, with Israel claiming it was responding to attacks by the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

Israel and Hezbollah Agree To Ceasefire; Oil Price Falls

Friday, June 19, 2026

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire that was to begin Friday afternoon, Worthy News learned.

Ukraine Suffers New Strikes As EU Presses Russia For Ceasefire (Worthy News Radio)

Friday, June 19, 2026

At least 10 people, including four children, were injured in a Russian strike on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, Ukrainian authorities said Friday. In southern Ukraine, the State Emergency Service reported that one person was killed and four others were injured in a separate Russian attack on the Odesa region.

‘Policy Blunder’ or ‘Pathway To Peace’: Republicans Divided Over Iran Deal

Thursday, June 18, 2026

President Donald Trump signed the temporary peace deal with Iran ahead of schedule Wednesday at the Palace of Versailles in France, kicking off negotiations over a final nuclear deal.