Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip executed five Palestinians on Sunday, two of them on charges of spying for Israel dating back to 2015 and 2009, the Interior Ministry said.
The executions, by hanging or firing squad, were the first in the Palestinian territories since 2017. Previous cases of capital punishment carried out in Gaza have drawn criticism from human rights groups.
The ministry’s statement did not give the full names of any of the convicts. She said only that three had been convicted of murder. The two convicted spies, aged 44 and 54, had given Israel information that led to the killing of Palestinians, she said.
Palestinian and international human rights groups have condemned the death penalty and called on Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-government in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, to end the practice.
Palestinian law says President Mahmoud Abbas has the final say on whether executions can be carried out, but he has no effective rule in Gaza.
Since Hamas took control of Gaza from Abbas in 2007, its courts have sentenced dozens of Palestinians to death and executed 27 so far, according to rights groups.
