The Rise of Anti-Hamas Militia Groups: Redefining Gaza's Future

Sat Nov 22 2025 06:08:38 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Amid ongoing conflict, armed groups opposing Hamas are seeking to establish themselves as key players in Gaza's political landscape under proposed peace plans.

As Gaza emerges from conflict, various armed groups, including family clans and criminal factions, are positioning themselves for a future role under potential peace initiatives. These groups, some reportedly backed by Israel, are voicing ambitions for integration into a new security framework while facing skepticism and resistance from local residents and officials wary of their influence.

Urgent questions are being raised over a patchwork of armed groups that have emerged to fight Hamas in Gaza over recent months.

They include groups based around family clans, criminal gangs, and new militia—some of which are backed by Israel, as its prime minister recently admitted. Elements within the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the occupied West Bank and is a political rival to Hamas, are also believed to be covertly sending support.

But these militia—each operating in its own local area inside the 53% of Gaza's territory currently controlled by Israeli forces—have not been officially included in the US President Donald Trump's peace plan, which calls for an International Stabilisation Force and a newly-trained Palestinian police force to secure Gaza in the next stage of the deal.

One of the largest militia is headed by Yasser Abu Shabab, whose Popular Forces operate near the southern city of Rafah. In one recent social media video, his deputy talks about working in coordination with the Board of Peace—the international body to be tasked with running Gaza under the plan.

Hossam al-Astal, who leads a militia called the Counter-Terrorism Strike Force near the southern city of Khan Younis, told Israeli media that US representatives had confirmed his group would have a role in Gaza's future police force.

A US official said they had nothing to announce at this time. Earlier this month, Astal grinned when I asked if he had spoken to the Americans about the future and told me he would share the details soon.

His group is small—maybe tens of fighters—but is increasingly confident and runs a well-supplied tent city near Khan Younis. We are the next day for the new Gaza, he told me. We have no problem cooperating with the Palestinian Authority, with the Americans, with anyone who aligns with us. We are the alternative to Hamas.

However, many Gazans—including those disillusioned with Hamas—are unhappy with the new power given to these groups. Critics express concern that these militias could betray local governance and exacerbate violence in the region. As discussions about peace and security take center stage, it remains uncertain what role these groups will play in the future of Gaza.