Hamas’s security campaign against collaborators armed and funded by the Zionist army is expanding.
A security source from the Ministry of Interior in Gaza tells Mondoweiss that the resistance group will soon launch another security campaign that will be “the largest yet,” aiming to eliminate groups that continue to collaborate with the Israeli army.
Since the ceasefire took effect in Gaza on October 10, Hamas forces have cracked down on a number of these groups throughout the Strip, most recently disarming the Doghmush clan in Gaza City. Other groups remain at large in areas still under the control of the Zionist army, most notorious among them the “Popular Forces” led by Yasser Abu Shabab in eastern Rafah, and the “Popular Army” led by Ashraf al-Mansi in northern Gaza.
On Sunday, the Zionist army said that Hamas had violated the ceasefire following an explosion in Rafah that led to the death of two Zionist soldiers. The army claimed that Hamas was responsible, which the resistance group denied, but the army immediately began bombing several locations across Gaza, killing 13 people and striking over 20 targets, according to local authorities.
Later in the day, Drop Site’s Ryan Grim reported that “familiar” sources said the White House and Pentagon were aware that the explosion was in fact caused by a settler bulldozer running over unexploded ordnance.
In Gaza, initial rumors speculated that the explosion occurred while Hamas forces attempted to attack the Abu Shabab group. Later in the day, Abu Shabab released a provocative video of himself strolling through the city, armed and flanked by militia members.
According to the security source who spoke to Mondoweiss, the number of militias in the Strip has dropped dramatically since Hamas launched its campaign. The source is an officer in the Ministry of Interior with knowledge of the intelligence gathered by Hamas on militia activity in the Strip, including from interrogations of militia members arrested by the security forces.
“The number of gang members collaborating with the occupation is small and does not exceed a few hundred throughout all of Gaza,” the Interior Ministry’s security source told Mondoweiss, noting that this estimate does not include Abu Shabab’s group. “The larger number belongs to the militia led by Yasser Abu Shabab, which is based east of Rafah City. He relies on families close to him who live in the same area, and it is entirely under the protection of the occupation army.”
On Tuesday, Haaretz reported that Hamas has already restored control over the parts of Gaza from which Zionist forces have withdrawn, according to occupation army assessments. Army sources reportedly told Haaretz that most local militias have been eliminated or disbanded, and there has been no local opposition to the reassertion of Hamas control.
The extent of militia collaboration, revealed
The security officer in the Ministry of Interior spoke to Mondoweiss about the extent of the collaboration between the militias and the Zionist army, claiming that interrogations with captured members reveal that the groups are not only funded, armed, and supplied by the army, but are also given assignments to conduct security sweeps and even to launch attacks against resistance fighters.
“They occasionally try to raid some areas near where the occupation is stationed,” the security source said. “But the security forces confront them and carry out operations against them.”
In north Gaza, Ashraf al-Mansi leads a militant group that calls itself the “People’s Army.” Last week, he released a video statement warning Hamas against approaching the areas under his control, which are close to the Erez Crossing in northern Gaza. A video investigation by Sky News shows al-Mansi’s group receiving support and aid from the occupation army in areas under its control.
But the security source says that Mansi’s group is the “weakest” of the armed gangs in terms of equipment, organization, and capabilities. “They are active in Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia, and are very close to ‘Israeli’ forces near the yellow line that was drawn as part of the ceasefire agreement,” the source clarified, explaining that this has made it difficult to carry out operations against al-Mansi, given that Hamas is avoiding any clashes with Zionist forces.
The source added that Zionist support for the militias has not stopped since the ceasefire. “We arrested a number of gang members, and our interrogations revealed that the occupation has been supplying them with weapons that belong to the resistance, which were confiscated from Gaza,” the source said. “But the occupation does not allow them to possess advanced weapons like the ones used by its soldiers. Apparently, the occupation does not trust these elements and their leadership.”
“All they possess are Kalashnikov rifles, pistols, and modern four-wheel-drive vehicles,” the source continued. “But we have not observed any heavy weapons or armored vehicles, which may be reserved only for their leaders. According to our interrogations with gang members, the occupation handed their leaders sums of money to fund their operations, in addition to providing them with food, supplies, and other goods.”
The source clarified that Abu Shabab’s militia is the most dangerous group in the Strip, and has been receiving the lion’s share of Israel’s largesse. “They have a greater variety of weapons and armament because they are assigned missions,” the source explained. “We have recordings with those members confirming the direct link of their militias to the occupation, including direct assignments by soldiers to members to carry out killings, kidnappings, and torture.”
Some of these kidnappings were widely publicized over the past few months. On July 21, an unknown armed group abducted Dr. Marwan al-Hums in Rafah, who is the head of hospitals in Gaza’s Health Ministry. Fingers were pointed at Abu Shabab’s group, but no further details were revealed. On October 2, his daughter, who is a nurse, was also abducted in Khan Younis, with locals making similar accusations that the kidnappers were associated with Abu Shabab.
The security source said that confessions also confirmed the participation of those groups in military operations on behalf of the Israeli army. “Militia members sweep areas where the army is operating, before the soldiers enter,” he explained.
Citing military sources, occupation news outlet Mako reported last week that Hamas had seized at least 45 vehicles and hundreds of Kalashnikovs, machine guns, ammunition, and even grenades, in addition to cash provided by the Israeli army.
The security officer who spoke to Mondoweiss declined to comment on the supplies that Hamas has taken from the militias. “These details cannot be discussed at the present time, but we are preparing to reveal a large part of them in the coming period,” the source said, adding that the information will “shock everyone.”
The source said the resistance has found information “exposing the cooperation of regional countries in supporting those groups and providing them with equipment and funding.”
“Direct funding is carried out through those countries, as well as through entities within the Palestinian Authority, all under the supervision of the occupation’s army,” the source added.
Hamas had earlier declared an “amnesty window” for militia members who handed themselves into the resistance group, guaranteeing that they would be pardoned so long as they were not involved in any killing or bloodshed. The window officially expired last Sunday.
The security source said that the Hamas campaign is not over. “We are monitoring and carrying out arrests of collaborators in various parts of the Strip, and we continue to work to launch security campaigns to eliminate these groups,” the source explained. “We have also sent messages to members that amnesty will be granted to those who lay down their arms and surrender, unless they were involved in killings and executions of Palestinians or resistance fighters.”
“In the coming days, there will be a security campaign that is the largest yet, and it will be on multiple fronts, in the places where those groups are present,” the source added.
source: Mondoweiss