Rafah -- Yasser Abu Shabab, the leader of an Israel-backed anti-resistance militia in southern Gaza who had been implicated in aid looting, drug smuggling and collaboration with Israel, was reportedly killed by unknown gunmen east of Rafah on Thursday, according to Israeli media reports.

Israeli Channel 14 announced his death, while Israel’s Army Radio said he was “eliminated by gunmen,” noting that he had cooperated with Israel in recent months.

Abu Shabab led the so-called Popular Forces, a roughly 100-man militia that operated alongside Israeli troops against Hamas in Rafah. Despite its name, the criminal group enjoyed virtually no popular support and operated alongside Israeli troops against Palestinian resistance in Gaza. 

Beginning in May 2024, his fighters raided aid convoys under Israel’s blockade while accusing Hamas of diverting supplies, an Israeli claim refuted by UN agencies and USAID, which found no evidence of Hamas misappropriating humanitarian aid. 

Multiple reports instead linked the looting to Israel-affiliated groups, including Abu Shabab’s own militia, crimes carried out in service of his role as Israel’s operative inside the Palestinian Strip.

Abu Shabab himself has admitted to collaboratind with the Israeli occupation army. “We keep them informed, but we carry out the military actions on our own,” he told Makan, Israel’s Arabic-language public radio broadcaster.

Israeli forces supported his group with cash, weapons, vehicles, food, and airstrike support through coordination with the Shin Bet (Israel’s internal security service), as part of efforts to weaken Hamas’s control in Rafah, much of which remains under Israeli occupation.

In July 2025, Hamas ordered him to surrender within 10 days on charges of treason and forming an illicit armed group, accusations stemming from his collaboration with Israel.

He was widely shunned in Gaza, where Palestinians viewed him as an Israeli agent and criminal who had profited from the blockade and the Israeli genocidal war on the Strip.

As of Thursday evening, no statements had been issued by his militia, by Hamas, or by Israeli authorities confirming his death or claiming responsibility.