Netanyahu says Israel has ‘activated' some Palestinian clans opposed to Hamas
The sun sets as smoke from Israeli bombardment billows over buildings in the northern Gaza Strip, seen from southern Israel, Thursday, June 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel has 'activated' some clans of Palestinians in Gaza that are opposed to Hamas, though it was not immediately clear what role they would play.
His comments on social media were the first public acknowledgment of Israel's backing of armed Palestinian groups within Gaza, based around powerful clans or extended families.
Such clans often wield some control in corners of Gaza, and some have had clashes or tensions with Hamas in the past. Palestinians and aid workers have accused clans of carrying out criminal attacks and stealing aid from trucks. Several clans have issued public statements rejecting cooperation with the Israelis or denouncing looting.
An Israeli official said that one group that Netanyahu was referring to was the so-called Popular Forces, led by Yasser Abu Shabab, a local clan leader in Gaza's southernmost city, Rafah. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
In recent weeks, the Abu Shabab group announced online that its fighters were helping protect shipments to the new, Israeli-backed food distribution centers run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the Rafah area. But some Palestinians say the group has also been involved in attacking and looting aid convoys.
Netanyahu did not specify what support Israel was giving to the clans, or what specifically their role would be. His announcement came hours after a political opponent criticized him for arming unofficial groups of Palestinians in Gaza.
In a video posted to his X account, Netanyahu said the government made the move on the advice of 'security officials,' in order to save lives of Israeli soldiers.
Though it was known in southern Gaza throughout the war, the Abu Shabab group emerged publicly the past month, posting pictures of its armed members, with helmets, flak jackets and automatic weapons. It declared itself a 'nationalist force' protecting aid.
The Abu Shabab family renounced Yasser over his connections with the Israeli military in a recent statement, saying he and anyone who joined his group 'are no longer linked' to the family.
The group's media office said in response to emailed questions from the Associated Press that it operates in Israeli military-controlled areas for a 'purely humanitarian' reason.
It described its ties with the Israel military as 'humanitarian communication to facilitate the introduction of aid and ensure that it is not intercepted.'
'We are not proxies for anyone,' it said. 'We have not received any military or logistical support from any foreign party.'
It said it has 'secured the surroundings' of GHF centers in Rafah but was not involved in distribution of food.
It rejected accusations that the group had looted aid, calling them 'exaggerations' and part of a 'smear campaign.' But it also said, 'our popular forces led by Yasser Abu Shabab only took the minimum amount of food and water necessary to secure their elements in the field,' without elaborating how, and from whom, they took the aid.
Abu Shabab and around 100 fighters have been active in eastern parts of Rafah and Khan Younis, areas under Israeli military control, according to Nahed Sheheiber, head of the private transportation union in Gaza that provides trucks and drivers for aid groups. He said they used to attack aid trucks driving on a military-designated route leading from the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel, the main entry point for aid.
'Our trucks were attacked many times by the Abu Shabab gang and the occupation forces stood idle. They did nothing,' Sheheiber said, referring to the Israeli military,
'The one who has looted aid is now the one who protects aid,' he said sarcastically.
An aid worker in Gaza said humanitarian groups tried last year to negotiate with Abu Shabab and other influential families to end their looting of convoys. Though they agreed, they soon reverted to hijacking trucks, the aid worker said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk the media.
The aid worker said he saw Abu Shabab's men operating in Israeli-controlled areas near the military-held Morag Corridor in southern Gaza in late May. They were wearing new uniforms and carried what appeared to be new weapons, he said.
Jonathan Whittall, head of the U.N. humanitarian office OCHA for the occupied Palestinian territory, said Thursday that 'criminal gangs operating under the watch of Israeli forces near Kerem Shalom would systematically attack and loot aid convoys. .... These gangs have by far been the biggest cause of aid loss in Gaza.'
The war between Israel and Hamas erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-linked militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage.
Israel responded with an offensive that has decimated Gaza, displaced nearly all of its 2.3 million people and caused a humanitarian crisis that has left the territory on the brink of famine.
Gaza's Health Ministry says over 54,000 Palestinians have been killed, more than half of them women and children. The ministry, which is led by medical professionals but reports to the Hamas-run government, does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally.
Hamas is still holding 56 hostages. Around a third are believed to be alive, though many fear they are in grave danger the longer the war goes on.
___
Magdy reported from Cairo.
Julia Frankel, Samy Magdy And Sam Mednick, The Associated Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
37 minutes ago
- CTV News
Israel says it has retrieved the body of a Thai hostage kidnapped into Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023
This undated photo provided by the Hostage's Family Forum shows Nattapong Pinta, with his wife and son. (Hostage's Family Forum via AP) TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel says it has retrieved the body of a Thai hostage kidnapped into Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, as it continues its military offensive across the strip, killing at least 22 people overnight, according to health officials. The Prime Minister's office said Saturday that the body of Thai citizen Nattapong Pinta was returned to Israel in a special military operation. Pinta was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz and killed in captivity near the start of the war, said the government. This comes two days after the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages were retrieved. Fifty-five hostages remain in Gaza, of whom Israel says more than half are dead. The defense minister said Saturday that Pinta's body was retrieved from the Rafah area. He had come to Israel from Thailand to work in agriculture. The army said he was taken into Gaza by the Mujahideen Brigades, the small armed group that it said had also abducted and killed Shiri Bibas and her two small children. It's also the same group that took the two Israeli-American hostages, Judih Weinstein and Gad Haggai, whose bodies were retrieved by the army Thursday. Israel said it found Pinta's body based on information received from the hostage task force and military intelligence. A statement from the hostage forum, which supports the hostages, said it stands with Pinta's family and shares in their grief. It called on the country's decision makers to bring home the remaining hostages and give those who have died a proper burial. Thais were the largest group of foreigners held captive by Hamas militants. Many of the Thai agricultural workers lived in compounds on the outskirts of southern Israeli kibbutzim and towns, and Hamas militants overran those places first. A total of 46 Thais have been killed during the conflict, according to Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Before Pinta's body was retrieved, three Thai hostages remained in captivity and two were confirmed dead. The fate of Pinta was uncertain until today, according to the hostage forum. The retrieval of Pinta's body comes as Israel continues its military campaign across Gaza. Hospital officials said they received the bodies of nearly two dozen people Saturday. Four strikes hit the Muwasi area in southern Gaza between Rafah and Khan Younis. In northern Gaza, one strike hit an apartment, killing seven people including a mother and five children. Their bodies were taken to Shifa hospital. Israel said Saturday that it's responding to Hamas' 'barbaric attacks' and is dismantling its capabilities. It said it follows international law and takes all feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted 251 hostages. They are still holding 55 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages from Gaza and recovered dozens of bodies. Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The offensive has destroyed large parts of Gaza and displaced around 90 per cent of its population of roughly two million Palestinians. Jahjouh reported from Rafah, Gaza Strip. Associated Press reporter Bassem Mroue contributed from Beirut, Lebanon. Sam Mednick And Mohammad Jahjouh, The Associated Press
National Post
2 hours ago
- National Post
Opinion: Indigenous leaders call Canada's anti-Israel joint statement hypocritical
We are deeply disappointed by the joint statement, co-signed by Canada, France, and Britain on 'the situation in Gaza and the West Bank.' This call rewards Hamas for the torture and murder of 1,200 innocent civilians on October 7 and the kidnapping of 250 others. We note that these are the same Western powers that bombed Raqqa and Mosul into rubble to eliminate ISIS, yet now invoke humanitarian concern to shield Hamas from the consequences of their own atrocities. Article content Article content Hamas started this war, and Israel has every right to defend itself against terrorists. One wonders what Canadian authorities would do if these Hamas atrocities had targeted Canadian citizens on Canadian soil. Article content Article content From the outset of the war, Hamas has hijacked international aid, diverting food, fuel, and medical supplies to sell on the black market. The proceeds— estimated at up to half a billion dollars — have effectively been a war subsidy, funding the recruitment and arming of more terrorists. Article content Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, aid restrictions are entirely lawful when there is a risk that the aid will be diverted to enemy combatants. Every truck that Hamas seizes is a reward for terrorism and an incentive to repeat their strategy. In spite of this, Israel ensured there was enough aid in Gaza to last months, with 25,000 aid trucks entering Gaza during the 42-day ceasefire. Indeed deliveries of aid have re-started, and a new mechanism has been put in place to ensure that aid is distributed to the needy, rather than diverted and stolen by Hamas. Article content Article content Meanwhile Hamas still holds 58 hostages in inhumane conditions underground — starving, torturing, and sometimes murdering them. Article content The conflict in Gaza could end tomorrow if Hamas laid down its arms and released the hostages. This is the path to peace. Hamas has never accepted Israel's right to exist. After Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, Hamas did not build a state; they built terror tunnels and stockpiled rockets, planning for October 7. To believe that a Palestinian state can be negotiated with a group that rejects the very existence of Israel is a dangerous and naïve fantasy. Article content Every ceasefire gives Hamas time to regroup and plan the next massacre. This is the unbearable dilemma Israel faces. Unless Hamas is defeated, this war will not end — it will merely pause, until the next October 7. If Western leaders enable this cycle, they will bear responsibility for the bloodshed to come — on both sides. Article content We are also concerned for the Jewish and Israeli people in Canada. Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs upgraded its travel alert for Canada to Level 2 due to rising threats against Israelis and Jews, following multiple recent attacks on Jewish institutions and a rise in hostile rhetoric. Israelis in Canada were urged to avoid public displays of Jewish/Israeli identity. Leaders of nations should be mindful of how their pubic statements (or lack thereof) might correlate with a rise in antisemitic attacks.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Israel says it has retrieved the body of a Thai hostage kidnapped into Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel says it has retrieved the body of a Thai hostage kidnapped into Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. The Prime Minister's office said Saturday that the body of Thai citizen Nattapong Pinta was returned to Israel in a special military operation. Pinta was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz and killed in captivity near the start of the war, said the government. Thais were the largest group of foreigners held captive by Hamas militants. This comes a day after the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages were retrieved. Fifty-five hostages remain in Gaza, of whom Israel says more than half are dead.
