Yasser Abu Shabab
Yasser Abu Shabab[a] (born 19 December 1993)[1] is the leader of the Popular Forces, an anti-Hamas armed group in the Gaza Strip. He is a Bedouin of the Tarabin tribe.[2][3][4][5] Abu Shabab emerged as a local opposition figure to Hamas during the Gaza war. In May 2024, his group began looting aid trucks, claiming he was providing security for humanitarian aid convoys entering Gaza during the Rafah offensive.[6][5] Abu Shabab was reportedly behind the Kerem Shalom aid convoy looting.[7] Israel began providing Abu Shabab's group with weapons and equipment in 2025.[8] Since June 2025, he has been in control over some parts of eastern Rafah.[4] Early life, smuggling, and prisonAbu Shabab was born in eastern Rafah in early 1990s. He is a member of the Tarabin Bedouin tribe.[9][10] According to sources close to Abu Shabab, he dropped out of school at an early age and became involved in drug trafficking.[11] He was also involved in smuggling cigarettes and other drugs into the Gaza Strip.[12] In 2015, he was arrested by Hamas on drug trafficking charges and sentenced to 25 years in Asda prison in western Khan Younis.[9] Looting and securing aid convoysIn October 2023, during the outbreak of the Gaza war, Abu Shabab escaped the prison as it was being bombed by Israel. The circumstances of his escape are unknown.[13][9] After his escape, Abu Shabab and his followers organized raids to turn the tables on Hamas and take action to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.[14] He led a gang of around 100 members, mostly former officers from the Palestinian Authority Security Forces to intercept food and supply trucks entering Gaza after accusing Hamas of stealing the provisions and shooting people. In November 2024, Abu Shabab survived an assassination attempt by Hamas at the European Hospital in Khan Yunis. He managed to flee but two of his associates were killed.[11] In January 2025, Hamas executed one of his senior aides.[15][16] In May 2025, Abu Shabab and his men were reported to be securing aid convoys, including vehicles of the United Nations and the Red Cross. Hamas accused him of being a collaborator with Israel, claiming his group operated behind earth berms securing humanitarian entry routes under the U.S. humanitarian aid initiative. According to reports, his forces were escorting convoys from the Kerem Shalom crossing, armed with AK-47 rifles allegedly provided by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).[17][18][19] Hamas has accused Abu Shabab's group of working with the IDF to inspect buildings before Israeli troops moved in.[20] Partial control over RafahIn June 2025, Abu Shabab released a recorded statement claiming to operate "under the legitimate Palestinian authority," referring to the Palestinian Authority (PA). He stated his operations were coordinated with the PA and called on residents of eastern Rafah to return to their homes, promising shelter and food for returning families.[21] He further announced the establishment of a force intended to protect Palestinians from "the terror of the de facto government" (referring to Hamas) and from "aid looters." He claimed to have distributed aid and provided protection to hundreds of families in eastern Rafah.[21] Jonathan Whittall, the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that gangs such as Abu Shabab's are responsible for "The real theft of aid since the beginning of the war" and that this is being done "under the watch of Israeli forces".[22] On 5 June 2025, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israel had supplied weapons to Abu Shabab's group, which Abu Shabab promptly denied.[23][24] Avigdor Lieberman criticized the decision and alleged that Abu Shabab has ties to the Islamic State.[22] On 8 June 2025, it was reported that Israel had agreed to the group assuming a governing role as an alternative to Hamas.[25] Abu Shabab's family disowned him for "supporting the Zionist occupation forces" and said they "have no objection to those around him liquidating him immediately".[22] Hamas put Abu Shabab in their top targets for assassination, which led to them unsuccessfully trying to kill him two times.[26][27] On 2 July 2025, Gaza's interior ministry ordered Abu Shabab to surrender to face trial on charges of treason.[27] The ministry said that a "Revolutionary Court" had given him 10 days to surrender, and that he was accused of “treason, collaborating with hostile entities, forming an armed gang, and insurrection". The ministry also called on Palestinians to inform Hamas militants if they were aware of his location.[28][29] It added that he would be tried in absentia if he failed to surrender. The Popular Forces responded on Facebook, saying that the court's order was a “sitcom that doesn’t frighten" them and that it doesn't "frighten any free man who loves his homeland and its dignity”.[30] Abu Shabab published an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal on 24 July 2025.[31] See also
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