Inmate to 'Israeli agent' Rise of Palestinian Abu Shahab and his clan could ignite new phase of war

On 7 October 2023, Yasser Abu Shabab was languishing in a Hamas-run jail in Gaza on charges of drug trafficking.

- Lorenzo Tondo Jamal Risheq Jerusalem

With the outbreak of the conflict, the Palestinian from Rafah managed to leave prison, though the circumstances of his release remain unclear to this day.

For a while, Abu Shabab vanished from sight. That changed last week when Israeli defense officials acknowledged they had begun arming a clan that calls itself the Anti-Terror Service. It consists of about 100 armed men who operate in eastern Rafah under the command of Abu Shabab, whose nickname is "the Israeli agent" and who is described as a "traitor" on social media in the territory.

The officials said the Israel Defense Forces' goal was "reducing Israeli military casualties" while systematically undermining Hamas. But critics have warned that the Israeli-backed criminal gang could push Gaza to the brink of civil war.

Abu Shabab, 32, has emerged as a powerful figure, exerting control over aid routes near the strategically vital Kerem Shalom crossing, while members of his group are accused of looting trucks carrying food, and of having ties to jihadist groups.

Last month Jonathan Whittall, the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in occupied Palestinian territories, said: "Theft of aid since the beginning of the war has been carried out by criminal gangs, under the watch of Israeli forces, and they were allowed to operate in proximity to the Kerem Shalom crossing point into Gaza."