Gaza families bombed after refusing to collaborate with Israel

Israel has bombed homes belonging to prominent Palestinian families in the Gaza Strip, killing dozens of people, after they refused to cooperate with the Israeli army against Hamas.

According to Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, Israeli forces approached the Bakr family in al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, offering them the chance to remain in their homes in exchange for forming a militia in the area to oppose Hamas.

One day after the family refused, Israeli air strikes hit their homes on Sunday, killing at least nine people, including children.

Similar incidents were reported involving the Dairi and Daghmash families in other parts of Gaza City.

Homes belonging to both families were bombed heavily on Friday and Saturday after they reportedly rejected similar Israeli offers. At least 60 people were killed in those strikes.

The Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported that Israeli intelligence agency Shin Bet had contacted leaders from the families as part of a wider plan to divide Gaza into “local fiefdoms”.

Euro-Med described the offers as part of an ongoing policy of “extortion” forcing Palestinian families to choose between collaborating with Israel or facing “mass killing, starvation, and forcible displacement”.

“What began as individual extortion has escalated into a systematic, collective practice aimed at dismantling the Palestinian social fabric - by forcing people to betray their communities and subjecting survivors to conditions that erode communal identity and resilience,” the organisation said.

It added that it had gathered testimonies from families who were threatened with siege, starvation, or death if they refused to comply with Israeli demands.

“This practice transforms humanitarian relief from an unconditional right into a tool of extortion and control, placing civilians’ lives on coercive bargaining tables and stripping them of fundamental protections.”

Organised collective coercion

Asharq Al-Awsat reported that one of the Bakr family elders said that Israeli intelligence contacted the family’s head, asking them to form an armed group to control the refugee camp after Israeli forces defeated Hamas fighters in the area. 

The family “categorically rejected” the plan, adding that they understood they would face retaliation as a result. 

The source stressed that this rejection of working alongside Israel is a decision driven by a principled national stance, and is not an expression of support for Hamas or other Palestinian factions. 

‘Popular Forces’: Who are the Gaza gangsters being armed by Israel?

Read More »

Palestinian factions have praised what they called the “genuine position” taken by families and clans, describing it in a statement on Sunday as a “safety valve” for Palestinian society.

They said that the refusal of families and tribes to yield to “Zionist temptations and attempts to infiltrate the Palestinian internal front” represents a new blow to Israel and “an honourable stance that will be remembered in the brightest pages of Palestinian history.”

Israel previously admitted to arming local gangs in Gaza, including the infamous Yasser Abu Shabab’s forces.

“We made use of clans in Gaza that are opposed to Hamas… What's wrong with that?” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a post on X in early June. 

As part of Israel’s latest plans, a scheme involving prominent communities, families and tribes in Gaza aims to establish local control to undermine Hamas. 

According to findings by Euro-Med, these efforts have evolved into a form of “organised collective coercion”.

The organisation stated that attempts to form such militias through threats amount to genocidal intent and constitute a war crime.