The international task force based in southern Israel is maintaining regular contact with several militia and clan leaders in the Gaza Strip to help maintain order and organization in the newly designated humanitarian zones, as well as to assist in distributing food and supplies to displaced Gazans in both the southern and northern parts of the Strip.
The aim is to build these militias into a local order-enforcing force which, if successful, would later receive broader powers throughout the Strip. Two of these militias are led by Husam al-Astal and Yasser Abu Shabab, clan-backed militias operating in southern Gaza that have been engaging in daily clashes with Hamas terrorists.
According to reports in Arab and Israeli media, al-Astal, formerly a member of the Palestinian Authority's Preventive Security Service under the command of Mohammed Dahlan, joined forces with the militia established by Abu Shabab in eastern Rafah, and later set up his own "safe zone" in the Khan Younis area. In interviews, he claimed that his militia receives equipment and support from Israel, and that there is close coordination between him, Abu Shabab and Israel.
The reliance on such questionable forces stems from the difficulties in assembling the planned multinational force, a topic discussed today in a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jared Kushner, senior adviser to US President Donald Trump.
The composition of that force remains unclear, as, according to Israel Hayom's previous reporting, no countries other than Turkey are currently willing to send troops into territory still under the control of Hamas before it disarms.
