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A prominent Palestinian militia leader opposed to Hamas has been killed in Gaza.
Yasser Abu Shabab leads the so-called “People Power” group, which has dozens of militants operating in Israeli-controlled areas near the southern city of Rafah.
People Power said in a statement that Abu Shabab was shot while “trying to resolve a dispute” between members of Abu Senema’s family. It dismissed “misleading” reports that he was killed by Hamas, which accused him of collaborating with Israel.
Abu Shabab’s Bedouin tribe Tarabin earlier issued a statement saying he “died at the hands of the resistance” and accused him of betraying the Palestinian people.
Other sources said his death was the result of an internal power struggle.
A Hamas statement said “the fate that befell Abu Shabab” was “the inevitable fate of all those who betray their people and their homeland and willingly become tools in the hands of the occupier (Israel)” but did not claim involvement in his killing.
Israeli Army Radio cited security sources as saying Abu Shabab died of his injuries after being taken to Soroka Hospital in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba. But the hospital denied he died in their care.
People Power’s statement pledged to continue on the path of Abu Shabab “until the last terrorist on Gaza soil is eliminated, building a bright and secure future for our people who believe in peace.”
In June, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israel was arming Palestinian tribes in Gaza, which he said were opposed to Hamas.
Earlier, Israeli media reported that he had authorized the supply of weapons to Popular Power. However, the militia denies that it is armed by Israel.
Popular Power has been accused of robbing humanitarian aid trucks sent to Gaza during the war, something the militia also denies. Reports in Israel also indicate that two of its members have previous ties to the Islamic State group (IS).
Abu Shabab has reportedly been one of several anti-Hamas militia leaders vying for a seat in the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan nearly eight weeks since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began.
It will involve the establishment of an interim government, the deployment of international stabilization forces, the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the disarmament of Hamas.
In the first phase, Hamas agreed to return all 48 hostages it still held in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees from Israeli prisons, a partial Israeli troop withdrawal and a surge in humanitarian aid.
The body of an Israeli hostage has not yet been returned.
The Israeli government has previously said it will not participate in the second phase of negotiations until Hamas returns all hostages. However, Trump said on Wednesday that Phase 2 “will happen very soon.”
The war in Gaza was triggered by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people and took another 251 hostage.
Since then, more than 70,120 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
