Palestinians leave the cities of Jabalia and Beit Lahia in northern Gaza and head toward Gaza City as Israeli strikes continue across the besieged Palestinian territory, May 17, 2025. (Credit: Bashar Taleb / AFP)
BEIRUT— Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel has “activated” some clans of Palestinians in Gaza that are opposed to Hamas, according to Associated Press and the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Netanyahu did not specify what support Israel was giving to the clans, or what specifically their role would be. In a video posted to his X account, the Israeli Prime Minister said the government made the move on the advice of “security officials,” in order to save lives of Israeli soldiers.
"What's wrong with that?", he added.
Earlier on Thursday, Israeli opposition MP and former Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman accused Netanyahu of supplying arms to a Salafist group active in the Gaza Strip and affiliated with the Islamic State, in an interview with public radio Kan Bet, as reported by the Israeli daily Haaretz.
Netanyahu later claimed that the Liberman's public announcement "only helps Hamas."
Prior to his clear recognition of activating these clans, Netanyahu's office initially said, in response to the accusations, that “Israel is working to defeat Hamas in various ways, on the recommendation of all the heads of the security apparatus”, according to Haaretz.
Satellite images and videos published online in recent weeks show that a new armed Palestinian militia has expanded its presence in southern Gaza, operating inside an area under the direct control of the Israeli army, Haaretz reveals. The group is said to be led by Yasser Abu Shabab, a resident of Rafah from a Bedouin family, known locally for his criminal activities and for looting humanitarian aid at the end of last year.
According to Gaza's Health Ministry, over 54,000 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023. Meanwhile, out of the 251 Israeli hostages Hamas took in October 2023, the group is still holding 56 hostages, around a third of whom are believed to be alive.
