Published On 20/10/2025
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Last update: 00:34 (Mecca time)
A network of armed militias spreads along the Gaza Strip from north to south, moving freely behind the “yellow line,” which represents the security separation path where Israeli forces are stationed.
These groups face accusations from multiple sources of cooperation with the Israeli occupation, although some of their leaders deny these accusations, in light of increasing evidence of their movement within areas prohibited to Palestinians according to the ceasefire agreement.
The first link of this armed network is formed at the southern gate of the Strip, where the “Popular Forces” group, led by Yasser Abu Shabab, is based, which arose east of Rafah following the Israeli military operation that targeted the city in May of last year.
The accusations against this group focus on two main axes: plundering a large portion of the humanitarian aid that entered the southern Gaza Strip, and direct cooperation with Israel, which is clearly indicated by the Israeli media, while Abu Shabab and his team categorically deny this.
The controversial pattern of armed presence is not limited to Rafah alone, but is repeated in Khan Yunis, where Hussam Al-Astal leads another armed group that has sparked widespread controversy due to its repeated appearance in video clips inside areas prohibited to Palestinians south of the city according to the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.
Last August, Al-Astal officially announced the formation of his groups under the name “The Counter-Terrorism Strike Force,” in a suspicious move by a man who was detained until the beginning of the war on the Gaza Strip on charges of dealing with Israel by the Ministry of Interior in Gaza.
Strive for expansion
What makes this phenomenon more complex is that armed formations are not content with controlling their geographical areas, but rather seek to expand across their borders.
In the Al-Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City, a group led by Rami Adnan Helles is active, and press reports indicated that it claimed to control lands in the northern Gaza Strip a few days ago, which indicates the expansion of the scope of these groups’ work geographically and the overlapping of their areas of influence.
The armed cordon is completed at the northernmost point, where the network of relationships linking these groups to each other and to the Israeli occupation is clearly evident.
Ashraf Al-Mansi leads what is known as the “Popular Army” in Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun, a group formed last September under the direct sponsorship of Yasser Abu Shabab, which reveals a network of coordination and cooperation between these armed formations across the geography of the sector.
Video clips showed support convoys carrying fuel, water, and supplies heading towards the Mansi headquarters in the north. What is most controversial is that these convoys crossed from areas controlled by Israeli forces or under their direct surveillance, which reinforces doubts about the nature of the relationship between these groups and the occupation.
Israeli sources reveal the true structure of the support provided to these armed groups, as they receive direct guidance and support from the Shin Bet intelligence service, in addition to Unit 8200 in the Israeli army, which specializes in electronic intelligence, which indicates a systematic process for establishing and managing these armed formations.
As soon as the ceasefire was announced in the Gaza Strip at noon last Friday, the security services in the Strip launched a massive campaign to pursue the armed gangs that cooperated with the Israeli occupation during the war, and contributed to destabilizing societal security and committing crimes that claimed the lives of dozens of citizens, after they took advantage of the fire cover provided by the occupation army to carry out their criminal acts.
According to an official source in the security services in the Gaza Strip, the security services were able to deal with an armed gang belonging to a family in Gaza City, which resulted in the killing of 32 of its members and the injury of 30 others, in addition to the arrest of 24 of them, and the confiscation of all the weapons in their possession, while the security services lost 6 of their members during the operation.