Gaza’s Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry said Wednesday it has given a local militia leader allegedly armed with Israeli weapons 10 days to turn himself in or face trial in absentia.
Yasser Abu Shabab, 32, from Rafah, is accused of treason, espionage for foreign entities, forming an armed cell and armed rebellion. Hamas warned the public announcement should be seen as “a message to anyone considering internal dissent within the resistance.”
Yasser Abu Shabab, leader of an armed militia operating in southern Gaza against Hamas
Abu Shabab’s militia, known as the Popular Forces, denied the accusations and told Ynet that Hamas should be put on trial instead for its own alleged ties to Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood—groups it called hostile to the Palestinian people and their national interests. The militia accused Hamas of turning Gaza into a bargaining chip for outside regimes and no longer representing the will of the people.
Abu Shabab, a controversial figure in Gaza, was previously jailed by Hamas on drug and theft charges before escaping during an Israeli airstrike on a Hamas security facility. He later founded the Popular Forces, which he claimed was established to distribute aid and protect civilians.
However, Palestinian and international reports have described the group as a militia allegedly coordinating with Israeli forces, particularly in areas of Israeli military control east of Rafah near the Kerem Shalom crossing. Hamas’ armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, has accused Abu Shabab of leading a network of collaborators recruited by Israel to sow chaos in the enclave.
He has also been named in a leaked UN memo for allegedly looting humanitarian aid. In May, facing public pressure, his family in Gaza publicly disowned him, admitting his involvement in security activity benefiting Israel.
According to Palestinian and foreign sources, Abu Shabab is tied to the criminal underworld and currently leads an Israeli-backed armed faction in Rafah. Social media footage has shown him in military fatigues and armed, alongside makeshift checkpoints and men wearing helmets marked “Anti-Terror Service.” The U.S.-affiliated aid group Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it does not employ or cooperate with any armed Palestinian actors.
Humanitarian groups have accused his forces of looting aid trucks and extorting protection payments, allegedly in view of Israeli troops. Hamas has declared the militia a hostile entity and released footage showing its fighters targeting Abu Shabab’s men with explosives—similar to its attacks on Israeli forces—confirming its view of the group as a significant threat.
