How Hamas uses brutality to maintain power

Palestinians at risk as group embeds itself in civilian areas; critics attacked, threatened

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This summer, Mr Amin Abed, a Palestinian activist who has spoken out publicly about Hamas, twice found bullets on his doorstep in the Gaza Strip.

Then in July, he said he was attacked by Hamas security operatives, who covered his head and dragged him away before striking him with hammers and metal bars.

"At any moment, I can be killed by the Israeli occupation, but I can face the same fate at the hands of those who have been ruling us for 17 years," he said, referring to Hamas.

Mr Abed, who remains hospitalised, was rescued by bystanders who witnessed the attack, but what happened to him has happened to others throughout Gaza.

The bodies of six Israeli hostages recovered in August provided a visceral reminder of Hamas' brutality.

Each had been shot in the head.

Some had other bullet wounds, suggesting they were shot while trying to escape, according to Israeli officials.

But Hamas also uses violence to maintain its control over Gaza's population.

Some Palestinians have been injured or killed as Hamas wages an insurgent style of warfare that risks Palestinian lives to strike the Israeli military from densely populated areas. Others have been attacked or threatened for criticising the group. Some Palestinians have been shot, accused of looting or hoarding aid.

Much attention has focused on Israeli hurdles to delivering aid to Palestinians, its military operations that have killed tens of thousands of people and a bombing campaign that has reduced cities to rubble.

But the reality of the war, according to American officials, is that the Israeli military and Hamas carry out questionable acts nearly every day.