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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that Israel has been arming and cooperating with Gaza-based militants as part of their efforts to defeat Hamas. Netanyahu’s admission came after opposition figure Avigdor Lieberman accused Netanyahu of arming “criminal gangs” in Gaza. The leader of the gang is Yasser Abu Jargoun, also known as Yasser Abu Shabab. Prior to the current war in Gaza, Shabab’s gang had been reportedly involved in smuggling operations between Egypt and Gaza. Lieberman accused the gang of providing weapons to ISIS-linked jihadists in the Sinai Peninsula. Muhamad Shehada, a fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said that the gang’s current activities in Gaza consist of looting humanitarian and profiting through blackmarket sales, reconnaissance missions on behalf of the IDF, securing aid for the recently created Gaza Humanitarian Fund, establishing camps in eastern Rafah to draw Palestinians out of the north, and serve as a proxy security force acting at the behest of the IDF. Some analysts had identified Israel’s connection to Shabab as early as the Fall of 2024. According to a 2024 report from the Washington Post, Shabab, who is a member of the Tarabin tribe which spans from the Sinai to Israel’s Negev Desert, leads a group of about 100 armed men. Netanyahu justified his actions claiming that arming gangs in Gaza “saves the lives of Israeli soldiers.” The PM’s office also released a statement saying Netanyahu “working to defeat Hamas through various means, based on the recommendations of all the heads of the security establishment.”
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