Yasser Abu Shabab, the leader of the Popular Forces militia who had openly challenged Hamas in recent months, was killed in the Gaza Strip after being evacuated to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, where he was pronounced dead. Abu Shabab, who commanded a force of several hundred armed men, had been released from a Hamas prison after an Israeli Air Force strike. He later accused Hamas of looting aid supplies and fostering chaos and corruption.
Palestinian sources had already reported in late May that a new armed force was taking control of food trucks in Rafah in southern Gaza. The militia was led by Abu Shabab, who previously served time in a Hamas prison. According to Hamas-linked circles, he was able to break out following an Israeli airstrike during the war and subsequently took command of a group estimated at 100 to 300 armed men.
The Abu Shabab clan belongs to the large Tarabin tribe, one of the most powerful in the Gaza Strip. Members of the tribe cooperated with Islamic State during the past decade as part of the smuggling trade between Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula, in which Hamas also played a major role. The clan itself does not hold ideological affiliation with Islamic State.
