Arrow Unit

The Sahm Unit (Arrow unit) is a Hamas internal security and enforcement force operating in the Gaza Strip in coordination with the Hamas-run Interior Ministry and police. The unit was established in its current form in March 2024, during the Israel–Hamas war, amid the weakening of Hamas’s governing and policing apparatus in the Strip. Its personnel, including members of the police and Interior Ministry as well as other operatives, generally operated in civilian clothing. Estimates published in 2025–2026 put the unit’s strength at approximately 1,000 members. The unit’s responsibilities included maintaining public order, combating aid looting and theft, monitoring merchants and prices, identifying suspected collaborators with Israel, and acting against Palestinian militias opposed to Hamas. During the war, the unit became one of the means through which Hamas sought to maintain control over the population and public spaces despite the damage sustained by its governing institutions. Members of the unit were accused of using arrests, beatings, shootings in the legs, imprisonment, and, in some cases, executions against individuals Hamas designated as criminals, thieves, or collaborators. The unit’s activities also had a propaganda and deterrence dimension. Hamas published footage on social media and Telegram channels showing punitive actions and threats against suspects and opponents, seeking to deter potential challengers and demonstrate its continued ability to enforce its authority.