TNA Staff
The New Arab / January 7, 2026
An Israeli-backed Palestinian militia says it killed two Hamas operatives in Rafah, highlighting rising internal challenges to Hamas in Gaza.
An Israeli-backed Palestinian militia announced on Wednesday it had killed two Hamas members in southern Gaza, highlighting Israel’s growing reliance on armed proxies to challenge Hamas in areas under Israeli military control.
The armed group, known as the Popular Forces, said in a statement that it carried out a raid in Rafah, killing two Hamas members who had refused to surrender and detaining a third. It shared a photograph that it said had depicted one of the slain men.
Hamas, which brands such groups as “collaborators”, declined to comment on the claim, which Reuters couldn’t independently authenticate. Rafah sits in territory under Israeli control under the terms of an October Israel-Hamas deal.
The Popular Forces, founded by an anti-Hamas armed Bedouin leader, Yasser Abu Shabab, is believed to be the largest group operating in Israel-controlled areas.
Abu Shabab was killed in December in what the group described as a family feud. He was replaced by his deputy, Ghassan Duhine, who pledged to continue confronting Hamas. The Popular Forces and similar militias have reported an increase in recruits since the October deal took effect.
The rise of these groups, though still small and localised, has added to instability in Gaza and highlights Israel’s use of rival armed factions, a strategy that could further undermine efforts to stabilise and reunify the territory after two years of war.
The militias remain widely unpopular among residents, mainly because they operate under Israeli authority.
Nearly all of Gaza’s two million people live in Hamas-held areas, where the group has been reestablishing its grip and where four Hamas sources said it continues to command thousands of men despite suffering heavy blows during the war.
But Israel still holds well over half of Gaza, areas where Hamas’ foes operate beyond its reach. With President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza moving slowly, there is no immediate prospect of further Israeli withdrawals.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged Israeli backing for anti-Hamas groups in June, saying Israel had “activated” clans. Israel has given few details since then.
