Gaza raids target armed groups accused of collaboration with Israel

The Radea Channel — a media outlet affiliated with Hamas’s security apparatus — reported on Telegram: “Our operations continue from the north to the south of the Gaza Strip against traitors and mercenaries.”

According to the channel, Gaza’s security forces are now conducting raids on areas where Israel-backed militants are believed to be active inside the enclave.

The Radea Force is a special field unit formed by the resistance’s security branch in late June 2025, tasked with combating disorder, pursuing thieves, spies, and those involved in moral or security-related crimes.

Militants led by Yasser Abu Shabab recently appeared in the southern city of Rafah; Israel is said to have armed them during the war for purposes of looting and espionage.

Earlier, Israel Hayom reported that the Israeli army had objected to a proposal from the Shin Bet intelligence service to relocate these Israel-backed militias to closed camps near Gaza once the war ends.

Recently, Palestinian sources reported that resistance forces attacked the headquarters of Yasser Abu Shabab, identified as one of Israel’s local proxies. The Telegram channel Gaza Now said that resistance fighters stormed Abu Shabab’s base in Rafah, killing six of his men.

Israel had previously attempted — through support for Abu Shabab’s militia — to promote the group as a potential replacement for Hamas, but the plan reportedly failed.

According to Yedioth Ahronoth, despite receiving weapons and recruiting dozens of fighters, the Abu Shabab group “failed to gain traction.”

Abu Shabab claims his militia secures humanitarian aid convoys, but local reports indicate the group has repeatedly looted aid shipments and sold them at inflated prices.

Yasser Abu Shabab, the group’s leader, hails from a large tribe in southern Gaza and is accused of drug trafficking and ties to ISIS. His force of about 200 fighters is sometimes seen wearing uniforms resembling those of Israeli soldiers.