This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

A source close to the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, has said that the killing of Yasser Abu Shabab; the Israeli- backed gang leader,  on Thursday was carried out through a carefully planned ambush inside the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

According to the source, the operation was executed by a young man from the Abu Shabab clan who pretended he wished to join the armed group led by Abu Shabab. He later carried out the plan with precision, killing the group’s leader along with several of his associates.

The source stated that the ambush came as a complete surprise. Israeli-backed militias in Rafah reportedly expected any attack by the Qassam Brigades to come from above ground, possibly by an elite unit, which would have prompted them to shelter near Israeli tanks. Instead, the infiltration came from within the group itself, allowing the attack to succeed.

He added that the irony was that Abu Shabab had recently appeared in a video declaring his intention to launch a campaign to “cleanse” Rafah, only to be killed days later along with his men in what the source described as “a real cleansing of the city from the gang”.

READ: Gaza tribes on Abu Shabab’s killing: the occupation has never afforded safety to anyone

The source said the operation represents a major breakthrough for the resistance and a significant blow to the Israeli security apparatus, undermining a strategic plan to impose Israeli- backed militia control over parts of Gaza.

Abu Shabab reportedly commanded a group of around 100 fighters who were armed and supported by Israel in eastern Rafah, with the aim of establishing a so-called “safe zone” to serve Israeli interests and weaken the resistance.

According to resistance sources, the group also carried out activities against Palestinians, including searching homes, dismantling explosive devices planted by resistance members, killing fighters, and seizing weapons, all in coordination with the Israeli occupation.

Abu Shabab had previously appeared in a video claiming his group controlled areas “liberated from Hamas” and that it was working with the Palestinian Authority to distribute aid and “protect civilians”. Multiple reports indicated that the group was in fact responsible for the looting of humanitarian aid that had entered the besieged enclave.

READ: Leader of Israeli-backed militia killed in Gaza: Media

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

Yet another example of Israel support of ISIS terrorists …