Israeli social media is abuzz with images and clips of a local warlord named Yasser Abu Shabab and his men patrolling the southern Gaza border town of Rafah.

In recent weeks, Abu Shabab has posted a number of videos urging Gazans to turn on Hamas and bring an end to the war.

The brazenness of his message and of his men’s presence on the streets of Rafah left most to presume this was happening with the Israeli army’s knowledge and approval.

On Thursday, opposition lawmaker Avigdor Liberman accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of providing military equipment to “crime families” in Gaza, after images showed Abu Shabab’s men patrolling in what appeared to be the same helmets used by IDF soldiers.

Netanyahu’s office did not explicitly deny the charge, stating only that “Israel is acting to defeat Hamas in various ways upon the recommendations of the heads of the security establishment.”

Meet Yasser Abu Shabab. He belongs to the Tarabin clan, the largest clan in the Gaza Strip. Social media accounts opposing Hamas claim he recently established a private security apparatus to guard the safe passage of aid trucks inside Gaza, with hundreds of armed Gazans working… pic.twitter.com/W6thQqfdCP

— Ariel Oseran أريئل أوسيران (@ariel_oseran) May 25, 2025

Israeli journalist Amit Segal noted that the notion of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” is an old Israeli tactic born of necessity in a region with few friends. Segal reminded his readers that under this doctrine, “Israel supplied ammunition to Iran in the 1980s, encouraged local [palestinian] committees in Judea and Samaria before recognizing the PLO, and now assists [local militias] in at least two areas of Gaza.”

Israel Army Radio correspondent Doron Kadosh reported that Israel had indeed transferred weapons and other equipment, most of its confiscated from Hamas, to local anti-Hamas militias in southern Gaza.

תמונות של אנשי המיליציה של יאסר אבו שבאב שפורסמו בימים האחרונים – שימו לב לקסדות ולאפודים שנראים חדשים… חלקם בצבע מדי זית.

עכשיו אפשר לעשות 1+1 pic.twitter.com/2Mem0x8xLn

— דורון קדוש | Doron Kadosh (@Doron_Kadosh) June 5, 2025

One of the missions of this militia is to protect humanitarian aid deliveries and to prevent Hamas from stealing supplies and reestablishing itself in the area.

While there might be other active militias, Abu Shabab’s is the only one with which Israel is currently actively cooperating.

🚨 BREAKING
A new armed group in Gaza, led by Yasser Abu Shabab, is shaking what’s left of Hamas.

🔻 Hamas tried to kill him near Kerem Shalom — failed. His brother was killed.
🔻 His 300-men force now secures food aid zones.

The internal war has begun. pic.twitter.com/obU5KfEuK0

— daniel 📟✌️ (@LionsOfZion_ORG) June 5, 2025

Israeli social media influencer “Abu Ali Express” believes Israel should urgently work to help establish more anti-Hamas militias in other parts of Gaza, and in so doing implement a kind of “divide and conquer” strategy.

“This model meets several critical needs of Israel on the way to dismantling Hamas,” explained Abu Ali. A “local leadership” takes over in areas cleared by the IDF, denying Hamas the ability to reestablish itself. And each “canton” is independently governed by a local sheikh or warlord, enabling the IDF to deal with any problems that might arise in a more isolated manner.

It will also allow those areas of Gaza from which Hamas has been kicked out to start rebuilding, now, and thus generate international support. Abu Ali suggests Israel encourage America and other Western powers to start helping Abu Shabab build new homes, schools, and maybe even a hospital in Rafah to show that life can go back to normal the moment Hamas is removed.

See related: Palestinian ’emirates’ – the solution to the failure of UNRWA?