Hamas gives Israel-backed gang leader in Gaza 10 days to surrender
Hamas has given the leader of an Israel-backed armed gang in Gaza 10 days to surrender, citing his involvement in looting aid deliveries.
The Revolutionary Court of the Military Judiciary Authority said Yasser Abu Shabab, the 35-year-old leader of the Popular Forces, would stand trial over charges of treason, collaborating with hostile entities, forming an armed gang and armed rebellion.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has admitted to arming the Popular Forces, which aid groups have accused of stealing humanitarian aid, in a bid to counter Hamas.
In a statement on its Facebook page, the Popular Forces described the court order as a “sitcom that doesn’t frighten us, nor does it frighten any free man who loves his homeland and its dignity”.
Abu Shabab, who was imprisoned by Hamas on drug trafficking charges, managed to flee prison with the outbreak of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023.
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Since his escape, Abu Shabab has assembled a few hundred men and exerted control over an area near the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing, which connects Gaza, Israel and Egypt.
Israeli news reports have described Israeli soldiers intervening in clashes between Hamas fighters and members of the militia group in order to protect Abu Shabab.
A leaked UN memo described their base as a “military-like compound” in a zone “restricted, controlled and patrolled” by Israeli forces.
In its assessment in mid-May, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global initiative aimed at enhancing food security and nutrition analysis to inform decisions, wrote that over the next six months, the entirety of Gaza is expected to face what is referred to by experts as “crisis, or worse acute food insecurity”.
Furthering the shortage of food has been the recently operating US-Israeli aid initiative, which has come under scrutiny for its use of militarised methods to distribute aid, and the lack of essentials entering the Gaza Strip.
In a joint statement on Tuesday, more than 130 NGOs have called for immediate action to end the “deadly” US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid scheme, and revert back to United Nations-led aid coordination mechanisms.
The GHF began operating in late May, following a three-month total blockade on the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces.
Since then, more than 500 Palestinians have been killed and around 4,000 wounded by Israeli troops while attempting to access food and aid supplies.
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