Palestinian Militias

Yasser Abu Shabab, leader of the Popular Forces militia in Gaza who was widely seen as Israel-backed and had fought Hamas, was killed during clashes with a Palestinian clan near Rafah in southern Gaza. Israeli officials say they helped arm his militia (a claim he denied), and Abu Shabab had acknowledged security coordination with Israel to prevent Hamas infiltration; the Hamas-run Interior Ministry celebrated his death as the "inevitable fate of every traitor" and urged other Israel-aligned militants to surrender as he operated in an area under Israeli military control.