The Free Press
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Exclusive: Leader of Anti-Hamas Militia Speaks Out
Posted
June 12, 2025
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June 12, 2025
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In a dusty corner of southern Gaza, a new anti-Hamas militia has taken control of a small patch of land in eastern Rafah.
They call themselves the Popular Forces, and in a video released last week, they pledged to protect civilians, guard humanitarian convoys, and resist what they describe as “terrorism and looting” by Hamas.
The group’s leader, 34-year-old Yasser Abu Shabab, hails from a large Bedouin clan, straddling Gaza and Egypt, that has helped the Egyptian army fight ISIS in the Sinai. Depending on who you ask, he’s either an opportunistic warlord—or the unlikely face of the first serious attempt at a post-Hamas civil authority.
Western media and think tanks have largely portrayed Abu Shabab as a traitor and a gangster with alleged links to ISIS and a history of looting humanitarian aid—while also acknowledging his group’s “growing role” in Gaza as Hamas’s control over the Strip weakens.
Abu Shabab, for his part, is inviting tens of thousands of displaced Gazans to live in his enclave and form the beginnings of a civil service. If he succeeds, he will pose the most serious political challenge to Hamas domination of the Strip in a generation.
Earlier this week, in partnership with the Center for Peace Communications (CPC), The Free Press reached Abu Shabab via phone to ask him directly about his alleged ties to ISIS, his relationship with Israel, and the political future he envisions for Gaza.
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