Threatening Gaza civil war, clan challenging Hamas admits to working with Israel

After denying ties to the Jewish state, head of drug trafficking Bedouin militia challenging Hamas rule admits to receiving aid from Israel.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

A Gazan militia group has threatened to wage a civil war against the Hamas terror organization, after it admitted for the first time to receiving aid from Israel.

In recent weeks, reports have circulated in Hebrew and Arabic media outlets that the Abu Shabab group, sometimes referred to as the Popular Forces, is quietly cooperating with the Israeli military in a bid to weaken Hamas control over parts of the Gaza Strip.

While Israel’s military now occupies close to two-thirds of the Gaza Strip, the remaining 35% of the coastal enclave remains under direct control of Hamas.

Hamas rule has been sporadically challenged during the ongoing war with Israel by spontaneous popular demonstrations.

Since the spring of 2024, however, rival militant groups, including tribal militias, have clashed with Hamas forces, in part in an effort to control the flow of incoming humanitarian aid.

Abu Shabab, a tribal militia organized by the Bedouin al-Tarabin tribe in southern Gaza which also operates as an organized crime syndicate, has featured prominently in the internecine violence in Gaza.

Last month, the militia’s leader, Yasser Abu Shabab, denied any ties to Israel.

On Sunday, however, he appeared to walk back his denial, acknowledging in an interview with Makan – the Israeli national broadcaster’s Arabic radio station – that his group has received aid from Israel.

Abu Shabab also confirmed that his group has at times coordinated its operations with the Israeli military, while downplaying the scope of the cooperation.

“We didn’t have any security like we do in zones under Israeli control. We entered these areas and carried out operations beyond expectations. As long as the goal is support and assistance” from Israel “and nothing more, when we go on a mission, we inform them — nothing beyond that — and we carry out the military operation.”

During the Makan interview, Abu Shabab castigated Hamas, and suggested that his group may lead a “civil war” against the terror group.

“We’ve tasted the bitterness and injustice inflicted on us by Hamas, and we’ve taken it upon ourselves to confront this aggression. We don’t rule out confrontation with Hamas and we don’t rule out civil war, no matter the cost.”

Shortly after the interview was published, a Hamas-led alliance of Gaza terror groups issued a statement condemning Yasser Abu Shabab as a “paid traitor” to the Palestinian cause.

“A treacherous, deviant group insists on serving as a tool in the hands of the occupying aggressor,” the Palestinian Joint Operations Room said.

“God has willed to expose this gang, led by the traitorous agent known as Yasser Abu Shabab, which was formed by the enemy army and whose political leadership has openly admitted to arming and operating them.”