Israeli bombs are still falling on Gaza and the humanitarian crisis remains. But the main change to the security landscape in 2026 has been the emergence of local militias with Israeli support, who are fighting a bloody war against the Hamas government for control of the Strip.
The groups largely operate from the 60 per cent of territory still controlled by the Israeli army behind the “Yellow Line” that was established after the ceasefire agreement last year. Their work includes assassinations, abductions, and gaining control of territory and resources.
They count hundreds of members, including men who were previously in Hamas jails for crimes including theft, trafficking, and even murder.
The Popular Forces, based in eastern Rafah on Gaza’s southern border, is the most powerful despite the killing of its leader, former smuggler Yasser Abu Shabab, in a shooting last December.
The Strike Force Against Terror is based in Israel-occupied parts of Khan Yunis under Husam al-Astal, a former security official of the Palestinian Authority that has limited governing powers in the occupied West Bank.
Well-trained militias run by powerful families with connections to Hamas’s main rival faction, Fatah, also operate with Israeli protection beyond the Yellow Line.
Israel has admitted providing arms and money for the anti-Hamas militias and the training videos they post on social media show equipment rarely seen in Gaza. The cells have pistols with silencers, electric bicycles, clothing fitted with miniature cameras, phones with wireless headsets and satellite coordination systems.
Yasser Abu Shabab, former leader of the Popular Forces (Photo: Abu Shabab/ Facebook)This technology has helped the groups to carry out increasingly bold assassinations of Hamas security chiefs, such as Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed Zamzam of the Internal Security Service, who was shot dead in his car last December in a hit claimed by the Popular Forces.
In February, the police chief of Khan Yunis, Lieutenant Colonel Mahmoud al-Astal, was gunned down inside Hamas-run territory in a hit claimed by forces connected to Strike Force Against Terror.
The group then posted a video on social media warning: “We will reach every member of Hamas, and we will inform the families that we are not responsible for the lives of their sons.”
Hamas’ interior ministry said they considered the assassination a continuation of Israel’s policy of targeting leaders and members of the security and police forces.
The groups have also collaborated with Israel to develop “humanitarian zones” – a controversial plan pushed by Israeli leaders to keep civilians in enclosed areas separate from Hamas – in Rafah, where they have established a school.
Wafaa Ahmed, 64, from Khan Yunis, who recently returned to Gaza from abroad, said he was approached by Popular Forces and Strike Force men as they crossed the border.
“The groups facilitated our passage. They checked our bags, tried to be nice to us, and asked why we had returned to the devastated Gaza,” he recalled. “They told us we had a chance to live in a better place with them. They even gave us a contact number, saying that if we accepted their offer, they would come and take us with them. We said yes, hoping to expedite things on the Israeli side.
“When we approached our safe zone in Khan Yunis, I tore up that paper. It was awful to see Palestinians cooperating with the Israeli army, which destroyed Gaza and killed tens of thousands. I lost my son last July.”
Militias have a presence at the Rafah border (Photo: Mahmud Turkia/AFP/Getty)These militias played a role in security around US aid centers that operated for about six months during the war, where thousands of civilians were shot. Many citizens say these groups were responsible for shootings at the centres.
Their members have carried out raids to arrest individuals wanted by Israel, such as Dr Marwan al-Hams, head of Abu Youssef al-Najjar hospital in Rafah, and his daughter, Tasneem, a nurse.
They have helped to clear territory wanted by Israel. This month, members went to the homes and tents of citizens east of Rafah to ask them to move 500 meters west of the city because the land was to be annexed. The request was late at night but the people were forced to move.
But the groups are facing an uncertain future as Hamas forces try to hunt them down.
When militiamen sought to establish a presence in the Mawasi displacement camps and Khan Yunis, Hamas allies launched rocket fire at them. When they tried to arrest people in the Maghazi refugee camp they were met with gunfire. Several of the group’s leaders, including Al Shabab, have been assassinated.
Israel acknowledges the groups have suffered heavy losses, and there are doubts over how long their support will continue. Reports from Israel suggest they are tiring of the group’s demands and concerned that they could become a security threat.
If the army leaves them in Gaza without protection, their members are likely to be killed.
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