GAZA CITY — Israel is running a dangerous blackmail campaign against tribes and families in Gaza, forcing them to choose between two options: collaborate with its forces and militias or face mass killings, starvation, and forced displacement.
Israeli forces committed a massacre at dawn today against the Bakr family in Al-Shati refugee camp. The attack killed nine people, including women and children. The bombing came just one day after the family refused an Israeli demand to stay in the area and form a militia to work for the army, similar to the so-called “Abu Shabab” gang.
The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor confirmed the report, adding that it also received reports from the Dairi and Doghmush families about similar Israeli offers. Both families rejected the proposals. In response, Israeli forces intensified shelling on Al-Sabra neighborhood, detonated booby-trapped vehicles, and killed more than 60 people. Many others remain trapped under the rubble.
Euro-Med stressed that Israel has escalated its blackmail tactics from targeting individuals to targeting entire families. The army is trying to create local gangs tied to it, tasked with unlawful activities such as spreading chaos and theft.
The Monitor said these practices amount to a war crime. Forcing families to choose between survival and becoming collaborators violates international law. It added that rejecting Israeli offers does not strip families of their right to protection, nor does it justify attacks against them.
Gaza’s resistance security forces praised one clan leader in western Gaza who rejected Israeli blackmail. According to “Al-Haris” platform, the man refused to accept Israeli offers to keep his home in exchange for turning his sons into a militia group.
The platform described his decision as honorable and historic. It said the family preferred dignity over betrayal, even if that meant sleeping on the streets and facing pressure. Resistance security added that such stances protect Palestinian unity and block Israel’s attempts to infiltrate society through collaboration.
Israel has long used blackmail tactics against Palestinians, promising treatment or aid in exchange for collaboration. The shift in Gaza, however, is toward forming entire militias that serve Israel’s project of displacement and control.
C. QNN
