Gaza militia leader Yasser Abu Shabab, who was an unlikely candidate to lead a resistance to Hamas rule, was killed last week, according to numerous reports.
His group, operating in southern Gaza, was the first anti-Hamas group to receive media attention in June and July, with Abu Shabab (his nom de guerre) mentioned in some reports prior to that, accusing him of various crimes.
He was initially thought to have been assassinated by Hamas, but differing opinions suggest that he was killed due to an internal feud. Reports also said he was taken to an Israeli hospital for treatment but died on the way. The precise details are not necessarily important. Abu Shabab was always likely to end up with such a fate for a variety of reasons.
The Israel-Hamas War has led to high numbers of Hamas casualties. Most of the group’s commanders were killed, according to IDF estimates. Nevertheless, the terror group had not had a serious challenge to its control.
At some point during the war, several small gangs emerged as possible alternatives to its rule in various areas. Some of them were armed clans, which had existed in Gaza for decades. Hamas dealt with all those groups with extreme vengeance, murdering their members.
Hamas has always ruled Gaza like a group of gangsters running a terror state. It uses terror against the civilian population, but also accommodates gangs and some corruption. It knows it can’t control everything. Therefore, it was unsurprising that some militias might emerge to challenge Hamas.
History has always shown that, when arming resistance groups, one may work with all types. For instance, the Taliban or the forces arrayed against them were a mix of types of people. Some groups emerge from drug smuggling or from gun running. In wars in South America, there have been cartels that also work with various Marxist or rebel groups.
Who was Yasser Abu Shabab?
As such, working with Abu Shabab was not entirely abnormal, but it was clear that anyone supporting this as an Israeli-backed alternative should consider the challenges ahead. It doesn’t appear that Abu Shabab’s group ever had many fighters. These militias often seem to have only a few dozen men. Some reports said they were allowed to bring along their families. Some of them grew from local Arab groups working with organizations such as GHF in some capacity.
For the IDF, the chance to have some local Israeli-backed groups in Israel’s Yellow Line zone could help reduce the need for large numbers of troops.
On the other hand, these groups are armed and could turn on each other. Hamas could infiltrate them. The nature of mercenaries and gangs, or even clans and tribes, is that they will go where the wind blows. They might want guns or money. Or they might simply want to preserve their fiefdom.
Gaza is made up of large numbers of people in a layered society. Some Gaza residents are descended from the people who lived in Gaza before 1948. Those groups tend to be rooted in the land and are often not affiliated with Hamas. There are also Bedouin tribes and clans.
The tribes are sometimes related to those in the Negev and Sinai. Some fled Israel in 1948-1949 or even in the 1950s. Others have been in Gaza for 100 years, migrating around until the borders forced them to live in one place.
Hamas has often relied on the camps in Gaza for manpower, which is strongest in Khan Yunis and the central refugee camps, as well as Rafah and Jabalya, Shejaia, and parts of Gaza City.
As such, there are areas on the periphery where Israel-backed militias operate. However, these groups are lightly armed, and even though they may have some vehicles, they are not ready to rule Gaza or even their own areas.
The rise and fall of Abu Shabab is a lesson.
Although some reports saw him as a hope in June and July, during Gideon’s Chariots and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Initiative, this was largely an illusion. The various militias are not ready to confront Hamas. They are not professionally trained. They are the result of a short-sighted Israeli policy that doesn’t seem to want to see a legitimate and stable Gaza governance emerge.
The US wants to see governance and an international stabilization force. However, Israel does not want the Palestinian Authority to rule Gaza. This situation leads to chaos and lends itself to working with small and relatively local or weak militias.
It is unclear whether Abu Shabab will be replaced or whether his death will break up his militia. The fact that the killing happened apparently in the safe “Green Zone” area behind the Yellow Line is a concern. It is indicative of the chaos that militias lead to and the threats that can emerge.
Hamas is celebrating today because, once again, a short-sighted tactic has not managed to get the terror group replaced.