Hamas Factional Clashes Kill Influencer ‘Mr. FAFO’, Yet Propagandists Blame Israel Amid Gaza Chaos

Days after Israel and Hamas reached a tentative truce agreement in the Gaza Strip, chaos once again erupted in Gaza City—this time not from Israeli airstrikes but from violent internal fighting between rival Palestinian factions. In the midst of this turmoil, Hamas-linked social media influencer Saleh Aljafarawi, widely known online as “Mr. FAFO”, was shot dead while reporting on the violence in the Sabra district. The incident has revealed not only the intensity of Gaza’s internal conflicts but also how disinformation rapidly spreads in the region’s politicized media landscape.

According to reports from Al Jazeera, Aljafarawi was killed by members of an armed militia during violent clashes in Gaza City. The influential figure, who was known for his pro-Hamas social media content, had been documenting the destruction in the Sabra neighborhood when he disappeared. Subsequent eyewitness accounts indicated that “lawless elements” shot him and looted his equipment and belongings. Palestinian media agency Quds News reported that his killing occurred amid confrontations between Hamas gunmen and fighters of the Dughmush clan, a powerful and heavily armed family that has long had a troubled relationship with the Islamist group.

Despite clear reports pointing to internal Palestinian fighting as the cause of Aljafarawi’s death, Indian “fact-checker” Mohammed Zubair, founder of the controversial portal Alt News, took to social media to allege that Israel was responsible. His claim, devoid of evidence, was widely circulated among pro-Islamist and anti-Israel online circles. Analysts have described such assertions as deliberate attempts to mislead audiences and bolster a narrative that holds Israel accountable for all violence in Gaza, regardless of the facts on the ground.

Meanwhile, BBC and other international outlets confirmed that armed Dughmush clan members and Hamas fighters have been engaged in bloody skirmishes across Gaza City for several days. The confrontations have left at least 27 people dead, including eight Hamas operatives and 19 members of the Dughmush tribe, according to medical and security sources. Witnesses described scenes of intense urban combat, with masked Hamas gunmen and clan militants exchanging heavy fire near the city’s Jordanian hospital.

A senior official in Gaza’s Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry said that security forces were attempting to surround the militants when the fighting intensified. The ministry later acknowledged that “an armed assault by a militia” led to multiple fatalities among its ranks. The violence reportedly began on October 11, only days after the truce agreement was brokered, undermining any semblance of stability the ceasefire was meant to achieve.

According to local reports, about 300 Hamas fighters launched an offensive in the southern Gaza neighborhood of Tel al-Hawa, attempting to raid a residential complex occupied by Dughmush clan gunmen. The resulting clashes caused widespread panic among civilians and renewed fears that Gaza is slipping into a cycle of lawlessness fueled by rival militias vying for control.

The Dughmush family is among the most powerful clans in Gaza, with a long history of both cooperation and conflict with Hamas. The family’s armed faction, sometimes associated with the “Army of Islam”, has previously been accused of kidnappings and attacks that embarrassed the Hamas leadership. Tensions between the two sides stretch back years, with both claiming authority in certain areas of Gaza City. Aljafarawi’s death, therefore, highlights the deep-rooted power struggles and fractures within Palestinian society that often erupt into violent confrontations—conflicts that have nothing to do with Israel.

Yet, as the reality on the ground clearly showed, propagandists outside the conflict zone attempted to manipulate the incident for ideological gain. Zubair’s claim that Israel was behind the killing of Aljafarawi is emblematic of a broader disinformation strategy—to automatically attribute every act of violence in Gaza to Israeli forces, regardless of evidence. Such behavior, critics argue, undermines journalistic ethics and contributes to a global echo chamber where facts are distorted to fit predetermined narratives.

Social media analysts point out that this pattern is not new. During previous conflicts, several influencers and “fact-checkers” have circulated unverified or false visuals, often attributing internal Palestinian violence or accidental explosions to Israeli attacks. These claims are amplified through coordinated online networks that seek to rally emotional outrage and political sympathy rather than convey factual accuracy.

In Aljafarawi’s case, even outlets like Al Jazeera, which are generally sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, confirmed that the fatal confrontation involved intra-Palestinian militias, not Israeli strikes. The fact that his death occurred while documenting fighting between Hamas and the Dughmush clan underscores the deteriorating security situation in Gaza—where law and order have eroded, and various armed groups operate with near impunity.

The episode serves as a reminder that Gaza’s greatest threat often comes from within. The internecine violence not only weakens Hamas’s control but also deepens the suffering of ordinary Palestinians caught between rival power centers. For Israel, the chaos across the border presents a complex challenge: whether to treat Gaza’s internal implosions as opportunities to maintain quiet or as warning signs of further instability.

Ultimately, the death of Saleh Aljafarawi—Mr. FAFO—is less about a single tragic killing and more about what it reveals: the deep divisions within Gaza, the rise of factional violence, and the relentless campaign of online misinformation that seeks to obscure uncomfortable truths. Amid the competing narratives and propaganda wars, one fact remains clear—he was not killed by Israel, but by Gaza’s own hand.