Is Hamas’ rule collapsing? Reports emerge of 2 new clan-based militias in Gaza backed by IDF

Two new militia groups are operating in the Gaza Strip against Hamas and with IDF assistance, Ynet News reported on Wednesday. 

According to the report, the militias – one based in Khan Younis and the other in Gaza City – are also aligned with the Palestinian Authority (PA), which is said to be paying their salaries.

The IDF has been active in both areas as part of Operation Gideon’s Chariots.

One of the militias is active in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, where the IDF recently returned in preparation to seize Hamas strongholds. So far, the IDF has limited its operations to the city's outskirts, concerned about endangering the remaining hostages, most of whom are believed to be held in Hamas facilities within Gaza City.

The militia in Shejaiya is affiliated with Rami Khalas, a Fatah party operative from Gaza. The Khalas clan has reportedly been in a long-standing feud with Hamas since the group’s violent takeover of Gaza in 2007. As one of the largest clans in the Gaza Strip, many of its members are concentrated in the Shejaiya area.

Several members of the Khalas clan are affiliated with the Fatah armed branch of the PA, including Ahmad Hales, also known as Abu Maher. 

The militia operating in Khan Younis is reportedly headed by Yasser Khanidak, whom Ynet referred to as “a local Fatah operative.” Khanidak and his militia have received weapons and humanitarian aid from Israel and, like the Hales clan, receive payment from the PA. 

Middle East Eye, a Qatari-funded news organization operating out of the United Kingdom, reported that Khanidak denied any ties to the PA in a statement to Al Jazeera. He also rejected claims of cooperation with Israel, expressing support for “the resistance.”

On Thursday, a statement allegedly issued by the Khalas clan was circulated on Arabic-language social media, declaring that the clan “distances itself from any acts of treason and collaboration with the Occupation,” amid allegations that a militia aiding Israel is being formed from within its ranks.

These reports mirror earlier claims about Yasser Abu Shabab’s forces in Rafah. While his forces initially denied cooperating with the IDF, the Israeli government later acknowledged working with Abu Shabab’s Popular Forces on multiple occasions.

On Wednesday, Hamas announced that Abu Shabab was given a 10-day window to surrender to the group. 

The Hamas Ministry of Interior published a statement on Wednesday ordering Abu Shabab to turn himself in and face trial on several charges, including “treason, collaborating with hostile entities, forming an armed gang, and an armed rebellion,” according to Al Jazeera. 

The Facebook page linked to Abu Shabab’s militia, the Popular Forces, issued a statement challenging Hamas’ legitimacy.

“The so-called revolutionary Hamas court, which issues its orders from its hideouts between hospitals and schools, is a sitcom that doesn’t frighten us, nor does it frighten any free man who loves his homeland and its dignity,” the group posted. 

The militia told Ynet, “In our view, all Hamas members should be put on trial for the same charge – for collaborating with Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood movement, as these are entities hostile to our people and their supreme national interests.”

In another post earlier this week, the Popular Forces claimed to have carried out a “premeditated operation against Hamas in the Khan Younis area.” 

During that operation, the Popular Forces entered the compound of the College of Applied Sciences in Khan Younis, where Hamas was reported to be storing humanitarian aid meant for civilians. 

The group claimed that it seized food at the scene and distributed it to the heads of the various clans in Khan Younis.