In Gaza, anti-Hamas gangs seen as imperiling food aid and public order
Israeli army tanks are seen positioned as smoke rises in the background in southern Gaza, as seen from a humanitarian aid distribution center operated by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, approved by Israel, in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025.
Abdel Kareem Hana/AP
Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip; and Amman, Jordan
As the Israel-Hamas war grinds on with a potential ceasefire still only on the horizon, Palestinian residents of Gaza are facing a new challenge: armed local gangs roaming freely and hijacking aid.
Even if Israeli bombs stop falling, this new violence, from within, is already stalking the rubble-strewn streets of Gaza鈥檚 cities.
The armed groups, some nominally aligned with family clans, are defining daily life for many Gazans, seizing the bulk of humanitarian aid, running racketeering schemes, and using lethal force to get their way, residents and aid workers say.
Why We Wrote This
The breakdown in public order in Gaza that has accompanied the depletion of Hamas鈥� forces has allowed armed gangs to seize influence. That is affecting the distribution of badly needed food aid, but the perpetuation of disorder looms as another concern.
The rise of these gangs coincides with a collapse of governance structures, accentuated by Israeli attacks on Hamas鈥� depleted police force, which has driven the remaining police officers into hiding. This has led to the forceful reappearance of two historical features of Gazan society 鈥� tribal clans and organized crime.
鈥淐haos continues to rage in the Gaza Strip, particularly in the south,鈥� says local journalist Osama al-Kahlout. 鈥淕angs continue to block aid trucks in Khan Yunis, stealing and hiding hundreds of tons of aid, and diverting it to markets, keeping the prices of flour and other basic commodities high.鈥�
Emerging as the most potent gang is the so-called Abu Shabab militia, led by Yasser Abu Shabab, who until recently was serving time in a Gaza prison on drug trafficking charges.
Mr. Abu Shabab has sought to position his gang as an anti-Hamas movement and says his militia is helping to alleviate the humanitarian situation by securing the distribution of aid in place of Hamas. But he is receiving little popular support and has been denounced by his own family as a traitor.
Israeli backing
Mr. Abu Shabab reportedly has a powerful backer: the Israeli government, which has long blamed Hamas militants for diverting aid for their own purposes.
鈥淲e keep them [the Israeli army] informed, but we carry out military operations on our own,鈥� Mr. Abu Shabab told the Israeli Arab-language public radio earlier this month. The Israeli authorities admitted last month to supporting armed Palestinian groups opposed to Hamas, without identifying them. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the time that the policy was 鈥渙nly good, it is saving the lives of Israeli soldiers.鈥�
According to The Times of Israel, the Israeli military had armed the Abu Shabab gang鈥檚 estimated 300 fighters with Kalashnikov rifles, including those seized from Hamas.
By allowing the Abu Shabab militia to operate both in Israeli military zones and in the new Israel-backed aid centers run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, Israel has given the militia a stranglehold on the main source of food entering the besieged strip, Mr. Abu Shabab鈥檚 critics say.
鈥淭he real theft of aid since the beginning of the war has been carried out by criminal gangs, under the watch of Israeli forces,鈥� Jonathan Whittall, head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in occupied Palestinian territories, said in a statement in late May.
The end result, Palestinians say, has been to embolden gangs and militias who are tightening their grip on daily life in Gaza and deepening the hunger crisis, limiting the amount of humanitarian aid reaching the families who need it.
The United Nations has identified the Abu Shabab militia as one of the gangs that have attacked and looted its convoys, according to internal memos published in the press. Contacted by the Monitor, international aid workers confirm the gang鈥檚 looting and say it poses a constant security threat to aid convoys.
For months, prior to a January 2025 ceasefire, Mr. Abu Shabab and his force were stationed east of Rafah 鈥� in areas designated by Israel as critical combat zones 鈥� near the Kerem Shalom border crossing, the only crossing through which Israel allowed aid to enter Gaza.
He and his group imposed roadblocks and attacked relief convoys, obstructing the delivery of aid and demanding control over distribution, residents say.
When the war broke out again with full force in mid-March, Mr. Abu Shabab tightened his grip, rebranding himself as a protector of humanitarian aid convoys entering from Israel.
Clashes with Hamas
Today the Abu Shabab militia is operating in the Israeli-established buffer zones constricting Gaza. While it claims to fight terrorism, Hamas and many Gazans see it as a mercenary gang working to destabilize the strip.
At Gaza Humanitarian Foundation relief centers, Palestinians report seeing men they identified as Abu Shabab gang members receiving the bulk of aid parcels directly from the U.S. contractors distributing the aid, leaving ordinary citizens to compete for what was left.
鈥淲e see people we never used to see 鈥� suddenly they have money, weapons, and cars. It鈥檚 strange. Something is broken,鈥� says Yousef Makram, a father of three, describing the dynamic.
In early June, clashes erupted between a Hamas force and the Abu Shabab militia. When Hamas members tried to assassinate Mr. Abu Shabab, Israeli special forces intervened to protect him, according to eyewitnesses and a Hamas police statement. An Israeli army spokesperson declined to comment.
A relative of Mr. Abu Shabab, speaking to the Monitor on condition of anonymity in her home in Deir al-Balah, shared her clan鈥檚 rejection of the militia leader.
鈥淢y husband and I feel nothing but disgrace,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something we can鈥檛 even speak about in the open. I no longer feel safe giving my full name when I attend meetings or go to the distribution center.鈥�
Other clans, other clashes
It is not only the Abu Shabab gang that Palestinians fear.
Other groups, splinters from other clans, have taken up arms, attempting to patrol and enforce control of their territories, seize aid, and settle old scores with other clans and Hamas.
This has created chaos that has led to the re-emergence of two societal forces that had existed in pre-Hamas Gaza 鈥� tribal clans and organized crime.
In June, in retaliation for the death of one of its members, the Barbakh clan from Khan Yunis engaged in a fierce firefight with Hamas militants in the Nasser Hospital. The battle damaged one of the few hospitals in Gaza that remains operational.
Hamas says it had been pursuing Barbakh clan members accused of stealing and hoarding aid.
Khan Yunis resident Mahmoud Awad al-Nafar expresses Gazans鈥� deep fears about the future.
鈥淲hen the war ends, the most important thing is security,鈥� he says. 鈥淓veryone who used to be in prison is now walking free and forming gangs. We don鈥檛 know who鈥檚 who anymore.鈥�
Alaa Skafy, director of Addameer Association for Human Rights in Gaza, describes the emergence of gangs, with Israel鈥檚 reported backing, as a long-term challenge for the coastal strip.
Mr. Skafy accuses Israel of 鈥渄eliberately and systematically targeting all components of civil order.鈥�
鈥淧olice stations, security personnel, and even community-led initiatives that try to protect aid convoys are being bombed,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he goal is clear: to create chaos and dismantle public order.鈥�
It is a legacy with which both Hamas and Israel may have to contend for years to come, Mr. Skafy predicts.