The head of the most prominent anti-Hamas militia backed by Israel in Gaza has been killed, removing a key figure in a policy to build up armed alternatives to the militant group.
Yasser Abu Shabab, the young leader of a militia called the Popular Force, which holds sway in a small slice of territory in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, was shot and killed while intervening in a Palestinian clan dispute, his militia said late Thursday.
Israeli security officials also said he succumbed to wounds suffered during internal fighting among clans in Gaza.
Abu Shabab had little prior presence in Gaza’s political scene and had been accused by Hamas and humanitarian officials of looting aid convoys. But he began appearing openly this year with new gear and weapons and voicing aspirations to challenge the militant group and transform the enclave.
He and his men were supplied arms by Israel, The Wall Street Journal previously reported, and some Palestinian civilians were believed to be living under his rule.
Abu Shabab and his militia frequently posted anti-Hamas commentary and videos touting their strength. He previously told the Journal that he “took over” aid that entered Gaza to provide food for the people under his protection who live in the Shouka area near Rafah in southern Gaza.
Abu Shabab’s death highlights the complexity of Israel’s strategy of building up armed Palestinian resistance to Hamas as a way to diminish the power of the U.S.-designated terrorist group.
Militias like the one led by Abu Shabab tend to be small, prone to infighting and lack the organizational strength or broader support from the Gaza population needed to build themselves into a genuine counterweight to Hamas. Some have been associated with looting and crime, and many Palestinians in Gaza have welcomed Hamas’s crackdown on rival militias.
Hamas cheered Abu Shabab’s death as the elimination of a collaborator with Israel.
The militant group has used the two-month cease-fire brokered by the U.S. to cow rival militias and reassert its control over Gaza. Hamas has refused the cease-fire agreement’s requirements that it disarm and step down from its role running the enclave, raising doubts about the durability of the peace.
Under the terms of President Trump’s plan, a board of peace and a committee of Palestinian technocrats are supposed to take over administration of Gaza, and an international force is to become responsible for security. But all have been mired in disagreements amid Hamas’s reassertion of its authority.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to allow the Palestinian Authority, which oversees parts of the West Bank, to rule Gaza. Instead, he has said he is seeking local partners in Gaza who aren’t affiliated with the authority or Hamas.
Throughout the war, Israel has provided support to various Gaza militias to increase pressure on Hamas, Israeli officials said.
Write to Anat Peled at anat.peled@wsj.com and Dov Lieber at dov.lieber@wsj.com