Yasser Abu Shabab killed by Hamas forces in Rafah

Yasser Abu Shabab, the head of a militia that looted aid supplies and attacked aid seekers at the height of Israel’s starvation policy, has been killed by Hamas, two sources from the movement told Mada Masr. 

Israel backed and supported Abu Shabab’s militia, dubbed “the Popular Forces.” 

One of the sources said that the attack on Abu Shabab was carried out by personnel from the Deterrence Force, a security arm formed at the beginning of the year to maintain civil stability as incidents of theft and assault increased in Gaza. The source said personnel infiltrated the ranks of Abu Shabab’s forces under the pretense of working with the militia.

Following Israel’s partial withdrawal from some areas in the strip under the ceasefire agreement, Hamas security forces have launched operations over recent weeks to reestablish its security role, including in areas where rival groups had seized control.

Social stability in Gaza further deteriorated after the ceasefire collapsed in March and Israel imposed a total siege on Palestinians. As starvation set in, armed groups began to attack bakeries, storehouses and aid trucks.

After Hamas had reestablished control within the yellow line — the withdrawal boundary stipulated under the October ceasefire — Abu Shabab’s militia remained active in eastern Rafah, where they recruited and employed forces in various capacities. 

Abu Shabab’s militia began to gain notoriety for the aid attacks in June. At the time, UN humanitarian officials said that “criminal gangs” had carried out operations to steal aid “under the watch” of Israeli forces and that they had been allowed to operate near the Israeli-controlled Karam Abu Salem crossing, naming Abu Shabab’s militia as the main culprits.

The Gaza government-run Al-Aqsa Radio said Abu Shabab had exploited “the security vacuum and chaos to form an armed militia of about 100 members, most of whom have criminal records and were recently released from prison.” 

After imposing a full siege on Gaza, during which no aid or supplies were allowed to enter the strip, Israeli authorities began in June to grant entry to limited numbers of aid trucks.

The trucks were repeatedly attacked and looted. And in response, the drivers’ association temporarily suspended work due to safety concerns. 

Speaking to Mada Masr at the time, truck drivers said that, upon entering the strip, they were met with armed gangs that shot and killed drivers and looted aid. As attacks increased, aid agencies suspended their operations in the strip, citing danger to their staff. 

Ahmed Tanany, the director of a Gaza-based research center that documented the aid attacks, told Mada Masr at the time that Israel’s support for these armed attacks was intended to trigger a collapse of social order. Tanany said Israel leveraged the chaos to introduce alternative supply and distribution lines under its exclusive control.

Weeks later, the rival “aid distribution” mechanism, the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, was launched in Israeli-held territory in the strip. Over 1,000 Palestinians were shot and killed at GHF distribution sites.

The famine killed hundreds in Gaza during the total blockade, with the Gaza Government Media Office reporting that malnutrition had contributed to the deaths of over 300 people since March.