A prominent Palestinian militia leader in Gaza, opposed to Hamas, has been killed.
Yasser Abu Shabab led the so-called Popular Forces group, which has dozens of fighters and operates in Israeli-controlled territory near the southern city of Rafah.
The Popular Forces said in a statement that Abu Shabab was shot while “trying to resolve a dispute” between members of the Abu Seneima family. He called reports that he was killed by Hamas, which accused him of collaborating with Israel, “misleading.”
An earlier statement from Abu Shabab’s Bedouin tribe, the Tarabin, said he was killed “at the hands of the resistance”, and accused him of betraying the Palestinian people.
Other sources claimed that his death was the result of an internal power struggle.
A Hamas statement said the “fate that befell” Abu Shabab was “the inevitable fate of all those who betray their people and their homeland and are content to be tools in the hands of the occupation.” [Israel]”, without claiming his involvement in his assassination.
Israeli Army Radio cited a security source as saying that Abu Shabab died of his wounds after being evacuated to Soroka Hospital in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba. But the hospital denied he died in their care.
The Popular Forces statement pledges to continue on Abu Shabab’s path “until the last terrorist is eliminated from Gaza soil and a bright and secure future is built for our people, who believe in peace.”
In June, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israel was arming Palestinian clans in Gaza that he said were opposed to Hamas.
This came after Israeli media reported that he had authorized the supply of weapons to the Popular Forces. However, the militia denied being armed by Israel.
The Popular Forces have been accused of looting humanitarian aid trucks sent to Gaza during the war, which the militia has also denied. Reports in Israel also suggest that two of its members have previous links to the Islamic State (IS) group.
Since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began nearly eight weeks ago, Abu Shabab has reportedly been one of several anti-Hamas militia leaders jostling for a place in the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan.
This would involve the establishment of an interim government, the deployment of an international stabilization force, the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the disarmament of Hamas.
In the first phase, Hamas agreed to return the 48 living and dead hostages it still held in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails, as well as a partial Israeli withdrawal and increased humanitarian aid.
The body of a dead Israeli hostage has not yet been returned.
The Israeli government has previously said it will not join negotiations on the second phase until Hamas returns all the hostages. However, Trump said Wednesday that the second phase was “going to happen very soon.”
The war in Gaza was sparked by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and another 251 taken hostage.
Since then, more than 70,120 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s Health Ministry.
