Setback for Israel: Leader of militia it backed in Gaza killed
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London: Israel’s efforts to create proxies in Gaza to counter Hamas suffered a setback after the leader of the militia it backed was killed.
Yasser abu Shabab was killed following a clash with ‘powerful and well-armed local families,’ The Guardian reported.
The Bedouin tribal leader was the commander of the ‘best-armed’ of the militia groups, the Popular Forces which came up among others at the end of the two-year war benefiting from Israel support.
It is not known when exactly Abu Shabab was killed but it is thought to have been in the last 48 hours with his group claiming that their leader died of gunshot wound.
Dismissing reports that Hamas was behind his killing, the group claimed Yasser abu Shabab suffered wound while intervening a family quarrel.
Abu Shabab, who according to reports based on social media inputs had been expelled by his clan, was killed in a clash after he refused to release hostage taken from a powerful local family.
The heavily armed relatives of the hostage took on Shabab’s group Popular Forces leading to casualties on both sides.
Abu Shabab , who was in his thirties, got badly injured and later succumbed to wounds in Gaza, according to The Guardian.
A spokesperson for Hamas denied having involvement in the killing of Abu Shabab whom the group called a ‘collaborator’.
Israel authorities have not yet made any comments on the death of the proxy group’s leader.
Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged in June that Israel had armed clans opposing Hamas, which some experts criticized as not an ‘alternative to Hamas’.
Calling his activities ‘humanitarian’ Abu Shabab told The Guardian in June that he did not work ‘directly’ with the Israeli military.