Anti-Hamas militia leader Yasser Abu Shabab reportedly killed in clan dispute in Rafah

Palestinian social media accounts in Gaza reported the death of Yasser Abu Shabab, the leader of the anti-Hamas Popular Forces, on Thursday afternoon. 

Reports intensify: Gaza militia leader Yasser Abu Shabab allegedly assassinated in East Rafah

Growing reports suggest the death of Yasser Abu Shabab, leader of the Gaza militia group self-proclaimed as "Popular Forces", in East Rafah. According to these reports, he was… pic.twitter.com/35LPh4LT88

— Gaza Report - اخبار غزة (@gaza_report) December 4, 2025

Abu Shabab was the leader of a Gazan militia that collaborated with Israel and opposed Hamas. According to reports in Israeli media, sources in the Popular Forces militia said that Abu Shabab was killed in an internal dispute between several Gazan families, when one of the men fired at him. The sources said it was not a confrontation with Hamas. 

Early reports said that Abu Shabab was wounded and taken to a hospital in Israel, where he was pronounced dead. Initial reports claimed that Abu Shabab was evacuated to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, however, the hospital later denied the report. 

Ynet News cited a militia official, who reported that an internal dispute developed between several families and several groups within the Popular Forces militia. That dispute deteriorated into gunfire, during which Abu Shabab was shot, leading to his death. 

Abu Shabab was a former member of the Palestinian Authority’s Fatah organization. He is originally a Bedouin from the Tarabin tribe. He gained strength after the outbreak of the war, and had between 100 and 300 armed men in his militia. Abu Shabab had good relations with the Palestinian Authority, with whom he used to work. 

The militia had claimed earlier this year that Hamas tried to assassinate Yasser Abu Shabab following the declaration of the ceasefire in October, however, the attempt failed due to the presence of IDF soldiers in the Rafah area. 

In June, the Israeli government confirmed that it had begun providing support to Abu Shabab's militia, in an effort to challenge Hamas’ rule and weaken the terror organization's power over the population. A security official had claimed that arming the militia had "saved the lives of many fighters from among our forces.” 

After that exposure, Abu Shabab was interviewed by several international media outlets and claimed that he had created a new safe zone in Rafah. About six months ago, he released a video, inviting Gaza residents to a tent city that he claimed his militia had set up in Rafah, promising them food, tents, and security. 

"We call on the families east of Rafah to return to their safe homes," Abu Shabab said in the video. "We are providing medicine and food and a place to live safely." 

Social media accounts associated with Abu Shabab published telephone numbers which Gazans who wanted to live in the new safe zone could contact. 

Several Hamas-affiliated Telegram accounts also shared the news of Abu Shabab’s death, although none claimed directly that Hamas had killed the leader. On Wednesday, several of the channels had uploaded videos of the public executions of men said to have been captured from the Popular Forces militia. 

Meanwhile, the IDF announced that the military had killed the East Rafah Battalion Commander, his deputy, and a Hamas company commander while they were trying to escape the underground terror infrastructure in the Rafah pocket, where dozens of terrorists are still barricaded underground. 

🔴ELIMINATED: The commander of Hamas’ Eastern Rafah Battalion, his deputy commander, and inner circle, while fleeing underground terror infrastructure.

Earlier this week, IDF troops eliminated in precise intelligence-based activity 4 terrorists who exited from an underground… pic.twitter.com/atHWTW03lr

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 4, 2025

The four were killed in an operation earlier this week, but the military only recently confirmed their successful elimination.