The rise of Abu Shabab
In Gaza, where the ruins of war have reshaped the landscape, power often grows not out of ideals but opportunity. Yasser Abu Shabab rose in the vacuum left by chaos and disorder, not as a symbol of resistance, but as a product of divisions and breakdowns within the system.
Operating in the grey zone between armed power, opportunism and survival, his name has come to represent the kind of suspicious alliance and internal betrayals that increasingly define Gaza's political underworld.
As reports of looted aid and secret coordination with the Israeli military surface, Abu Shabab's story exposes the uncomfortable truths behind public narratives of heroism and resistance.
Abu Shabab is not well-known to the public, but many in political and armed circles in Gaza are familiar with his name. He was born and raised in Rafah and is a member of the Tarabin clan, one of the largest Bedouin tribes in the region.
People who know him say he isn't driven by strong beliefs, but by a desire to gain power and protect his own interests. In mid-2010, he took on important roles behind the scenes helping to move supplies, make deals, and manage fighters. He became known not for fighting on the front lines, but for building connections and taking advantage of the chaos during unrest. These actions helped him rise to prominence, but also made him a controversial and suspicious figure.
Abu Shabab had a tense relationship with the Hamas authorities in Gaza, having previously been imprisoned by them on charges related to drug dealing. His detention was part of Hamas' broader crackdown on criminal activity and internal dissent. However, following the outbreak of war on 7 October 2023, he managed to escape from prison amid the chaos. Since then, he has resurfaced as a prominent figure operating independently, taking advantage of the security vacuum in parts of the Strip.
In recent months, Abu Shabab has become one of the most controversial figures operating in Gaza not for his ideology, but for his direct cooperation with the Israeli forces. According to multiple sources, including Israeli officials, Abu Shabab now heads a militia known locally as the Popular Forces, composed of 100-300 armed men, drawn mainly from powerful clans of southern Gaza.
The group operates primarily in and around eastern Rafah and near the Kerem Shalom crossing, where it has taken control of key aid corridors under the protection of Israeli military units or at least tolerated by them. According to Abu Shabab, their mission is to block Hamas' access to humanitarian aid, but in practice, the group has been widely accused of looting aid convoys, extorting truck drivers, and diverting essential supplies such as flour, medicine, fuel, and tents.
One major incident in November 2024 involved the seizure of over 90 United Nations trucks, which were stripped almost entirely of their contents before reaching the distribution points. While Israeli officials defend the arming of clan-based militias as a tactical move to weaken Hamas without deploying more ground troops, human rights observers and UN agencies warn that it has opened the door to lawlessness and warlord-style rule over desperately needed aid. At the centre of it all is Abu Shabab, a man whose power now rests not on legitimacy among his people, but on assisting Israeli army and willingness to exploit the hunger and chaos of a besieged population.
Multiple sources inside Gaza, including aid workers and residents near the Kerem Shalom crossing, describe Yasser Abu Shabab as the key architect of the looting operations that have plagued aid convoys for months.
Witnesses recount seeing his fighters, sometimes accompanied by men in civilian clothes, intercept trucks as soon as they entered southern Gaza. Under his direct orders, entire shipments of flour, rice, and canned goods were diverted to storage sites controlled by his group, often to be sold on the black market or redistributed through clan-linked networks.
Several drivers reported being threatened at gunpoint if they refused to cooperate, as some of them were forced to pay protection simply to pass. Humanitarian officials say the scale and organisation of the thefts suggest a centralised command and point to Abu Shabab's presence during several high-profile raids.
'This isn't chaotic looting by hungry people. This is a system, and Abu Shabab is running it,' one UN worker who spoke on condition of anonymity said.
In response to Abu Shabab's violent raids and the escalating looting of aid convoys, Hamas, faced with growing public anger and the deepening humanitarian crisis, has taken the unusual step of publicly acknowledging the threat posed by rogue armed groups operating under Israeli protection.
Diyaa Al-Nasara, a spokesperson for the Interior Ministry in Gaza, confirmed in a press release that Hamas has activated what it calls the 'Popular and Revolutionary Committees' to combat aid looting and confront what he described as 'bandits' obstructing the delivery of life-saving aid. 'People are being forced to buy from thieves,' he said, referring to the widespread diversion of food and fuel.
According to Hamas officials, these new units have carried out at least a dozen raids across Rafah and Khan Younis, resulting in direct confrontations with looters. For Hamas, the issue is not just humanitarian, it is a matter of sovereignty. By mobilising against Abu Shabab's forces, the group is signalling that it will not tolerate a parallel authority backed by Israeli arms, even in the midst of war.
In late May and again in mid-June, Gaza's hunger-stricken residents faced a deadly gamble when they queued for food at various US-backed distribution hubs. One of the worst occurred on 27 May in Rafah's Tel Al-Sultan, where thousands gathered at a site overseen by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
As aid trucks rolled in, panic erupted. Witnesses say civilians, including starved families, surged forward only to be met with live fire from nearby Israeli forces. According to Gaza's Health Ministry, at least 10 Palestinians were killed and more than 60 injured. A second outbreak of violence on 14 June, this time near the Netzarim corridor, left at least 15 dead at another US-backed aid point.
Locals describe screaming and chaos as bullets reportedly rained down on desperate crowds. For many on the ground, these were not tragic accidents, they were the harrowing result of distributing food in heavily militarised zones, where what should have been a lifeline became a horrific, deadly trap.
The Gaza Health Ministry reports that since the GHF programme began in late May, approximately 274 Palestinians have been killed and over 2,000 injured at US distribution points.
With Gaza's land crossings sealed and its airspace dominated by drones, even the sea has been closed off to those trying to help. The Madleen flotilla, a civilian aid ship organised by international solidarity groups, was intercepted by Israeli forces before it could reach Gaza's shore last week.
For many people in Gaza, what happened to the Madleen aid boat was an effort to bring help blocked before it could reach them. 'They stop the ships just like they stop the aid trucks. My people are hungry, trapped, and forgotten,' a Palestinian man currently staying in Egypt said.
Meanwhile, internet and mobile communications were partially restored in Gaza after a four-day total blackout, offering a brief lifeline to residents and humanitarian workers who had been completely cut off from the outside world. Local sources confirmed that technicians, braving dangerous conditions and scarce resources, managed to restore parts of the network in Gaza City and sections of the northern Strip on Friday.
The outage, caused by damage to critical infrastructure amid relentless Israeli bombardment, had crippled emergency coordination and severely disrupted aid operations, leaving people unable to call for help or share their suffering with the outside world.
In a place where even the delivery of aid has become a deadly gamble, the communications breakdown served as yet another painful reminder of Gaza's isolation, a silence that speaks volumes about the depth of the crisis. According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, 55,297 Palestinians have been killed and over 128,426 injured by Israel as of 7 October, 2023.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 19 June, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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