Israeli-backed militia leader killed in Gaza

Israeli-backed militia leader Yasser Abu Shabab was reportedly killed in Gaza on December 4th, as reported by Middle East Eye and agencies.

Multiple Israeli outlets said Abu Shabab was dead, although the circumstances surrounding his killing remain unclear.

The killing was said to have taken place in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, an area under full Israeli military control.

Abu Shabab, the leader of the Popular Forces, was named “the main and most influential stakeholder behind [the] systematic and massive looting” of aid convoys in Gaza in an internal U.N. memo, according to The Washington Post.

Hamas and Abu Shabab’s militia had violent clashes over the course of the last two years. In June 2025, 50 members of his militia were reportedly killed during clashes with Hamas.

Abu Shabab was in a Hamas-run prison on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched its attack on Israel. He was imprisoned in Gaza by authorities on allegations of narcotics trafficking, as reported by The Guardian.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has admitted to the fact that Israel has been arming anti-Hamas clans in Gaza, as reported by the BBC.

Abu Shabab had built a reputation as one of the most notorious collaborators during the two-year genocidal war on Gaza. He took part in the looting of aid as well as the kidnapping or killing of Palestinian civilians and Hamas fighters.

According to reports, he operated from eastern Rafah with the backing of Israeli forces, who provided him with air cover.

His activities had made him a high-profile target for Hamas security forces, who had publicly promised to pursue him throughout the war. Following word of his death, crowds reportedly poured into the streets across Gaza, handing out sweets and firing celebratory gunfire.

While Hamas offered no immediate statement on the reported killing, Israeli media provided additional fragments of information. Channel 12 reported that Abu Shabab was transported by Israeli forces to Soroka Hospital after being wounded, where he was later declared dead. The network’s political commentator Amit Segal called the event a “bad development for Israel.”

According to The Jerusalem Post, Abu Shabab was assassinated by members of his clan in what was described as an internal scuffle.

Since the ceasefire in Gaza, there have been fierce clashes between Hamas and other armed factions, who are often Israeli-backed. This has created a fractured political and economic landscape in Gaza, reflecting the broader strategy imposed by the Israeli regime to make Gaza unliveable for those who have endured two years of Israel’s genocidal siege.

Middle East Eye and agencies, The Guardian, BBC, The Jerusalem Post, The Washington Post, Maghrebi.org