October 13, 2025

Israeli air strikes on Gaza may have halted, and a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas is ongoing, but tucked behind the headlines, tensions are brewing in Gaza between Hamas and armed groups.

On Sunday, clashes erupted between an armed clan and Hamas security forces, killing at least 27 people, including eight members of Hamas, according to the Ministry of Interior in Gaza.

Caught in the crossfire was 28-year-old Palestinian journalist Saleh Aljafarawi, who was covering clashes in Gaza City’s Sabra neighbourhood between what security sources told Al Jazeera Arabic was an “armed militia” and Hamas.

Is that the only militia in Gaza? Who are these armed gangs? What are their goals? And are they really affiliated with Israel?

Here’s all you need to know:

Media reports and sources said the clan that was fighting Hamas in Gaza City is the Doghmush clan.

The large family has members in various factions across the political spectrum in Gaza.

Momtaz Doghmush was involved in the group Jaish al-Islam’s capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2008. Other clan members have been in Hamas or groups affiliated with the Palestinian Authority.

Some reports claimed the Doghmush who fought Hamas on Sunday were affiliated with Israel, but other sources from Gaza deny the affiliation with Israel.

Critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, rare earth elements, and platinum group metals are essential for modern technologies. They are key to industries ranging from electronics and telecommunications to renewable energy, defence, and aerospace systems.

The global demand for these minerals has been growing, as has the competition for them.

The supply and production of these minerals is largely concentrated in the global South. Most of the world's cobalt is produced in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It produces almost three-quarters of the global cobalt output. Australia produces nearly half of the world's lithium. Chile accounts for another quarter of global lithium production, with China following at 18%.

China dominates the supply chain through massive investments in mining operations, particularly in Africa. It is responsible for refining 90% of rare earth elements and graphite, and 60-70% of lithium and cobalt. The United States and European Union -- long-term trading partners with African nations -- have also adopted policies to secure access to Africa's resources.

The question is what African countries are doing to take advantage of this demand for these critical minerals, especially to drive their own development.

As development researchers we address this question in a special publication on the rising significance of critical minerals in Africa by the Indian Council of World Affairs. In another publication, we look at how emerging resource diplomacy may reinforce Africa's position in the global economy as a mere source of raw materials.

We recommend that African countries determine for themselves how to benefit from this global competition. This includes developing national strategies that emphasise local value addition and benefits. Also, national strategies should begin positioning African countries to gain from their resources beyond value addition.

The U.S. Department of Education announced Wednesday that it will end funding for all programs supporting universities that serve minority populations, including Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), calling them “racially discriminatory for requiring ethnic quotas.” In Puerto Rico, this will impact 97% of all university students.

Also slated to lose funding are programs that strengthen institutions serving predominantly African American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and nontribal Native American students.

The announcement came just one day after the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo (CPI) revealed that public and private universities in Puerto Rico would be the hardest hit among all U.S. states and territories if a lawsuit filed by the state of Tennessee and the group Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) succeeds. The plaintiffs seek to eliminate race and ethnicity as criteria for awarding federal funding to universities under the HSI program. The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

Beyond the lawsuit, however, the Education Department’s decision will immediately affect at least 56 universities in Puerto Rico that rely on the program. The island ranks third in the number of institutions serving Hispanic students, behind only California and Texas, according to CPI’s analysis. Puerto Rico also tops the list of institutions with the highest proportion of Hispanic students, with 97% of its university population falling into this category, according to the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU).