Israel Arms Fatah-Linked Militias Combatting Hamas in Gaza

The Khalas clan, one of the largest in the Strip, has long been hostile toward Hamas—stemming from violent confrontations between the two factions after Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007.

Most of the family lives in Shejaiya, near the Israeli community of Nahal Oz, while Rami Khalas himself resides in the Tel al-Hawa area in southwestern Gaza City. According to sources, Khalas and his men are heavily armed and are now receiving Israeli protection and operational cover. 

The broader Khalas family is closely linked to Fatah; among its most prominent members is Ahmad Khalas, known as Abu Maher, a member of Fatah’s Central Committee and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s representative in Gaza.

Alongside the Khalas faction, a second Fatah-aligned militia is operating in Khan Younis, one of Hamas’s traditional strongholds. This group is led by Yasser Khanidak, a local Fatah operative who, along with his fighters, opposes Hamas’s rule.

Like Yasser Abu Shabab, Khanidak is receiving Israeli aid—both in weapons and humanitarian supplies—as well as a salary from the Palestinian Authority.

Their activity is framed as retaliation for the 2007 killing of Salameh Barbakh, a senior officer in the Palestinian Authority’s Preventive Security Force who was murdered by Hamas terrorists while trying to flee toward the Egyptian border. Barbakh himself had been involved in the killing of Hamas operatives and was a staunchly anti-Hamas figure within Fatah.

The emergence of Khalas and Khanidak as military actors illustrates the deepening rift between Fatah and Hamas, which has re-emerged in Gaza as Hamas’s control begins to erode.

Analysts suggest that as Israel identifies more opportunities to work with local anti-Hamas elements, such cooperation could expand—despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s public insistence that Gaza will become neither “Hamastan” nor “Fatahstan.”

Abu Shabab’s Stalled Efforts

For now, however, the forces led by Abu Shabab have struggled to scale up or establish any form of governance. Roughly 400 Gazans have joined his ranks so far but the militia remains largely confined to the buffer zone near Rafah, with little operational reach beyond it.

On Wednesday morning, Hamas’s Interior Ministry issued a 10-day ultimatum for Abu Shabab to surrender to the military court. He faces charges of treason, espionage on behalf of foreign powers, forming an armed cell and armed rebellion.

The statement warned that if he fails to appear, he’ll be declared a fugitive and tried in absentia. The threat was described as a public warning and “a message to anyone considering undermining the resistance from within.”

In response, Abu Shabab’s group told Ynet: “We believe every member of Hamas should face the same charges—for collaborating with Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood, which are hostile to our people and to our national interests.”