Death of commander of Popular Forces is blow to Israel’s efforts to confront Hamas through proxy groups
The leader of a Israeli-backed militia in Gaza has been killed, dealing a major blow to Israel’s efforts to build up its own Palestinian proxies to confront Hamas.
Yasser abu Shabab, a Bedouin tribal leader based in the Israeli-held zone of the devastated territory, is thought to have died from wounds sustained in a violent clash with powerful and well-armed local families, according to local media and sources in Gaza.
Abu Shabab was the commander of the Popular Forces, the biggest and best-armed of several militia that emerged in Gaza during the later stages of the two-year conflict. All appear to have benefited from Israeli support as part of a strategy of arming proxies to degrade Hamas and control the population.
The exact timing of Abu Shabab’s death is unknown, but appears to have been in the last 48 hours.
