New leader of Israeli-backed militia in Gaza had ties to Daesh-aligned group: Report

Ghassan al-Duhaini, the newly appointed leader of Gaza’s largest Israeli-backed militia, has a history of involvement with a Salafi group that once aligned itself with Daesh, according to regional and Israeli media reports.

Al-Duhaini assumed leadership of the group known as “Popular Forces” after the recent killing of its former leader, Yasser Abu Shabab, who also had close ties with Daesh.

The group, armed and supported by Israel, operates primarily in Israeli-occupied areas of southern Gaza and has been used to counter the influence of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in the strip.

According to Al Jazeera, al-Duhaini previously worked for the Palestinian Authority before joining Jaysh al-Islam, a Gaza-based Salafi organization inspired by al-Qaeda ideology that pledged allegiance to Daesh in 2015.

Israeli outlets have also highlighted al-Duhaini’s background, noting his role as a commander in a faction associated with al-Qaeda-linked militancy.

Al-Duhaini is not the only Popular Forces member with extremist ties. Another figure in the group, Issam Nabahin, was identified by Hamas and Egyptian intelligence as a Daesh fighter who previously battled Egyptian forces in the Sinai.

Abu Shabab himself maintained smuggling links with Daesh-Sinai and had a criminal record that included drug trafficking charges before escaping prison during the chaos that followed Hamas’s Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.

After forming an armed gang amid Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, Abu Shabab was equipped by Israel and transformed his group into the so-called Popular Forces.

A leaked UN memo last year described his militia as the main force behind the large-scale looting of aid trucks in southern Gaza.

Abu Shabab acknowledged taking items from aid trucks in an interview with The Washington Post, though he claimed he avoided seizing food and children’s supplies.

Abu Shabab’s death, reported by Israeli media to stem from an internal dispute, was seen as a setback to Israel’s strategy of using local militias against Hamas. But al-Duhaini has signaled his commitment to continuing the campaign.

“Why would I be afraid of Hamas when I am fighting Hamas?” he told Israel’s N12 News. “I fight them, arrest their people, confiscate their equipment, and push them away.”

Yasser Abu Shabab’s destiny is the inevitable fate of every traitor: Hamas

Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has warned that the murder of Israeli collaborator Yasser Abu Shabab is the inevitable fate of every person who chooses to betray their people.

Hamas warned in a statement on Thursday that the murder of Abu Shabab is the inevitable fate of every person who chooses to betray their people and homeland and cooperate with the occupying Israeli regime.

The movement pointed to the importance of unity among the Palestinian people to thwart Israeli plots, praising the families, tribes, and clans that disavowed Abu Shabab and his accomplices.

Hamas said criminal acts committed by Abu Shabab and his group in coordination with the Israeli military “constituted a blatant departure from the national and social identity” and have nothing to do with the Palestinian people’s values and traditions.

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