Hamas ‘Arrow Unit’ Unveils Its Machinery of Repression in Gaza

It was a macabre spectacle. A middle-aged man knocked to the ground, his agonized screams growing louder as unidentified assailants beat him on the soles of his feet with a blunt instrument. Throughout the video of his ordeal posted to social media, the victim’s cries were drowned out by a pulsating musical accompaniment added for dramatic effect.

On display was Hamas’s Arrow Unit, a specialized force established by the Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza to enforce internal control of the population through intimidation, violence, and punitive action. Despite the volume of media coverage devoted to Israel’s ongoing war against the Iran-backed terrorist organization, precious little attention has been paid to the Arrow Unit. Hamas has exploited the humanitarian crisis inside the coastal enclave — rooted in its ongoing refusal to release the hostages seized during its October 7, 2023 atrocities in Israel — to brutally consolidate its control, quashing both criticism of its manipulation of humanitarian aid as well as political dissent more broadly.

In recent weeks, the Arrow Unit has stepped up its activities. The unit’s primary task is to carry out beatings, executions, and other forms of violence against Palestinian civilians accused of a range of crimes.

Executions and Beatings

Recent examples demonstrate Hamas’s willingness to use violence against the civilian population it purports to defend as demonstrations against its refusal to compromise, and thereby allow the restoration of humanitarian aid, have multiplied across Gaza.

On May 10, the Hamas-affiliated news agency GazaNow reported that a firing squad from the Arrow Unit had executed two accused “collaborators” with Israel.

The previous day, footage uploaded to social media showed street-level assaults committed by masked members of the unit armed with iron rods, batons, and firearms.

Background of the Arrow Unit

On November 16, 2024, the Quds Press reported that the Interior Ministry created the Arrow Unit within Gaza’s police force to secure the “home front from any suspicious attempts to destabilize social stability.” The unit comprises Hamas police, operatives from its security forces, and volunteers.

Although the Arrow Unit is nominally tasked with law enforcement, its operational conduct reveals a primary focus on preserving Hamas’s authority through coercion and fear. Rather than upholding the rule of law, the Arrow Unit serves as an instrument of authoritarian control designed to reinforce the Islamist group’s grip over a population that has repeatedly made clear its discontent with Gaza’s ruling authorities.

Israel has targeted the leadership of the unit, recognizing its central role in repressing internal dissent among Palestinians. On January 2, an Israeli airstrike in Khan Yunis eliminated Major General Mahmoud Salah, who assumed command of Gaza’s police force in 2019 and who established the unit. On May 10, Israel killed the unit’s commander, Saqer Talib, in an airstrike in Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood.

Hamas Is Showing Strain, and Israel Must Take Notice

The documented rise in Hamas-directed violence against Palestinian civilians signals mounting internal pressure against the organization — a direct consequence of sustained Israeli military and strategic pressure. As Hamas’s grip on Gaza erodes, Israel’s military campaign needs to address the information war as well, highlighting the flagrant violation of basic legal norms by the Arrow Unit.

Without a peace plan for Gaza that requires Hamas to disarm, the postwar situation will be similarly bleak for the strip’s embattled residents, whose ability to obtain food, water and other vital supplies will be determined not by their needs but by the degree of loyalty shown to their Hamas rulers.

 Joe Truzman is an editor and senior research analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal, focused primarily on Palestinian armed groups and non-state actors in the Middle East. For more analysis from Joe and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Joe on X @JoeTruzman. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.