Israel to work with anti-Hamas militia to reconstruct Gaza

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

The Abu Shabab militia will take charge of reconstruction work in Gaza with Israeli approval, Kan News reported Tuesday night.

The militia has worked with Israel since the outset of the Gaza war and has recently been tasked with securing reconstruction projects in the southern part of the Strip.

Its activities are coordinated with Israeli security forces in zones that remain under partial Israeli oversight, and the group is said to operate on the ground alongside IDF units.

Sources with knowledge of the situation noted that several local armed groups are currently active in Gaza in cooperation with Israel, particularly in pockets where Israeli control persists despite the end of large-scale fighting.

What will ultimately happen to these militias is still unresolved. Israel’s defense officials have not determined their role once the IDF eventually leaves Gaza, and the issue is now part of broader discussions about future security arrangements in the south.

U.S. officials denied earlier reports in the Saudi press that militia leader Yasser Abu Shabab met with special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during their visit to Israel.

“This report is false — never happened,” the State Department wrote on X.

The meeting was said to be about the militia’s role in the reconstruction in Gaza and solutions for the removal of 100 to 200 Hamas terrorists trapped in Rafah.

Israeli officials on Tuesday night dismissed media reports claiming that Jerusalem and Washington had agreed to grant safe passage to 100 to 200 Hamas terrorists cornered in Rafah in return for laying down their arms.

A story that appeared earlier in the Hebrew press suggested such an arrangement had been reached after a prolonged impasse.

An Israeli official rejected that account outright, saying, “There is no agreed-upon solution regarding the terrorists in Rafah,” pushing back on claims that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and visiting U.S. adviser Jared Kushner supported sending the group into exile.

The report in question outlined a proposal in which roughly 100 to 200 Hamas operatives would emerge from tunnels along the Israeli-controlled section of the Gaza border if they turned in their weapons and agreed to be relocated.