Yasser Abu Shabab, leader of the Popular Forces, an Israeli-backed gang in Gaza, who died on Thursday after being wounded in clashes with other militias. (Photo circulating on X)
Yasser Abou Shabab, who led a militia backed by Israel and rivaling Hamas in Gaza, died on Thursday of wounds obtained during clashes between militias, a security source told Haaretz. The news was later confirmed in a statement released by his family on social media.
Reports indicated that Abou Shabab had been taken to a hospital in Israel, where he then succumbed to his injuries; however the hospital in question, Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva, denied these reports.
Abou Shabab's gang, called the "Popular Forces," had been operating inside Israeli-controlled areas of Gaza, notably in Rafah, from where Abu Shabab's family, a large, well-connected Bedouin clan, hailed.
In May, Abu Shabab, who was in his 30s, had tried to entice Palestinians to move into Israeli-controlled areas of the Strip by promising them food and shelter, echoing Israel's forced displacement plans. Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the NYT Dealbook Summit that he wanted to see Israeli-armed gangs shape Gaza’s future and that “Palestinians fighting Hamas” could form an alternative leadership.
Before the cease-fire came into effect, Hamas, as well as several humanitarian organizations and the truck drivers working for them, accused the Popular Forces of looting humanitarian aid convoys and stealing desperately needed supplies.
Hamas cracked down on Abu Shabab's gang and other armed groups who took advantage of the cease-fire to try to take control of areas from which the Israeli army had newly withdrawn from. Clashes broke out, and, in some neighborhoods, public executions took place of people accused of working for Israel.
Israel acknowledged earlier this year that it had supported some of these groups in an effort to weaken Hamas. Hamas calls armed groups not affiliated with political movements "outlaws" and accuses them of endangering the fragile truce with Israel.
About an hour after news of Abu Shabab's death broke, the Radeh Unit — a Hamas unit that targets suspected collaborators with Israel — posted his picture along with the message: "As we said, Israel will not protect you."
And in Lebanon, Palestinians living in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp near Saida celebrated the death of a "spy," according to L'Orient Today's correspondent in the South.
In a video circulating online, an Ain al-Hilweh resident can be seen handing out pastries to passersby.
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