Gaza Police Officer Attended Swiss-Norwegian Media Training Before Participating in October 7th Massacre

FDD senior researcher Joe Truzman reported that Gaza police officer and Hamas member Ahmed Abu Huda actively participated in the October 7, 2023, attack against Israel

The Gazan police offer who participated in the October 7th Massacre, as identified by FDD’s Joe Truzman. Source: Joe Truzman X

In discussions surrounding Gaza's governance, one often-overlooked yet crucial aspect is the role of its police force. While traditionally, a police force is expected to maintain law and order, in Gaza, the police function as an arm of Hamas. Reports and intelligence findings have consistently highlighted the deep entanglement between Hamas and the so-called civilian law enforcement structures in Gaza.

The Gaza police force, as it exists today, was formed in 2007 following Hamas’s violent takeover of the Gaza Strip. After ousting Fatah security forces, Hamas Interior Minister Said Seyam established the force.

The force’s primary purpose was not to uphold civilian rule of law but to consolidate Hamas’s control over Gaza, enforce its ideological rule, and ensure compliance with its governance. This reality became more evident as the years progressed, with clear evidence that Gaza’s police were heavily intertwined with Hamas’s military operations.

Hamas’s Executive Force: A Militarized Police

After winning the 2006 elections, Hamas formed the Executive Force, a paramilitary policing unit composed largely of Hamas terrorists. This force functioned as a militant wing, engaging in armed confrontations, suppressing political opponents, and enforcing Hamas’s rule. Human Rights Watch—no friend of the Israeli government—has previously documented extensive abuses carried out by Hamas police and the Internal Security Force, including arbitrary detentions, severe beatings, gunshots to the legs, and torture, sometimes resulting in death.

These police officers were often deployed alongside Hamas fighters during armed conflicts. This was particularly evident in the 2008-2009 Gaza conflict, where many police officers who were eliminated in Israeli airstrikes were later identified as members of Hamas’s military wing.

Gaza Police Officers Involvement in Hamas Military Operations

Gaza’s Civil Police Force is composed of members of the armed wings of Hamas and the Popular Resistance Committees (PRCs), and members of smaller terror factions in Gaza. Many Gaza police officers have undergone military training in Iran and Syria, aligning them with Hamas’s external militant alliances. Israel has recognized the strategic role of Gaza’s police as a militant force and has heavily targeted it during the ongoing 2023-2025 war. The General Directorate of Police in Gaza has claimed that at least 1,400 Gaza police officers, including the head of the police, Mahmoud Salah, have been eliminated in Israeli strikes. Additionally, In March 2024, Israel eliminated four Hamas officials, three of whom were police officers responsible for coordinating with UNRWA and local clans. These strikes by Israel highlight the strategic efforts to dismantle Hamas’s military and governance apparatus.

Hamas police officer, Mahmoud Salah, eliminated by the Israeli Air Force while hiding in a humanitarian zone. Source: X

Direct Involvement in the October 7 Massacre

More recently, evidence has emerged further exposing the direct connection between Gaza’s police force and Hamas’s militant activities. According to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) senior researcher Joe Truzman, Gaza police officer and Hamas member Ahmed Abu Huda actively participated in the October 7, 2023, attack against Israel. Abu Huda, who was later eliminated by Israeli security forces, was not merely a law enforcement officer but a combatant in Hamas’s mass killing of Israeli civilians.

Adding another layer of complexity to the issue, Abu Huda had reportedly taken a media course two months before the attack that appeared to be sponsored by Norway and Switzerland, as indicated by the logos of their governments on the banner in the image below.

Gaza police officer Ahmed Abu Huda, who participated in the October 7th attack, received media training that appears to have been sponsored by Norway and Switzerland just two months prior. Source: X

The Illusion of Civilian Policing in Gaza

By blurring the lines between civilian and military roles, Hamas ensures that even its police force remains an instrument of its ideological and military agenda. As such, any attempt to portray the Gaza police as a neutral law enforcement agency ignores the deeply entrenched reality of their role as a proxy force for Hamas.