Israeli report warns: Relying on Abu Shabab’s militia in Gaza destined to fail

Israel appears to have suffered another setback in its ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, this time due to its reliance on a militia it has recently armed and funded in the hope of it playing multiple roles — including supporting the Israeli army and replacing Hamas as a power on the ground.

The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth has reported that the militia, led by Yasser Abu Shabab, is struggling to fulfil the tasks Israel had expected it to carry out in the Gaza Strip to help establish control over the territory.

According to the paper, the militia consists of around 400 fighters and is mainly operating in the buffer zone near Rafah. It has so far failed to expand its presence beyond this limited area.

In a recent statement, the militia — whose leader Abu Shabab was previously mentioned in a United Nations internal memo as being responsible for the systematic looting of humanitarian aid — said: “We expect an immediate solution to the problem of aid theft. Distribution will take place under a new mechanism to ensure that every citizen receives his share.” However, it remains unclear whether the militia will be involved in the distribution process, how it would do so, and to what extent, while the US-funded Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) continues its operations in the Strip.

Meanwhile, the militia’s deputy leader, whose forces are working alongside the Israeli army, accused Hamas of leading a coordinated campaign to seize aid shipments.

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