The Daily Populous Tuesday July 8th, 2025 morning edition
Authored by ynetnews.com and submitted by NotSoSaneExile

"My clan is spread over an area that extends from the Negev to the Sinai. We are a big family and everyone supports me and my actions," said Yasser Abu Shabab in his first interview for an Israeli media outlet.

A Bedouin from the Tarabin tribe, Abu Shabab, organized armed groups to fight Hamas in Gaza, reportedly with weapons provided by Israel .

Abu Shabab fighters in southern Gaza

Don’t call us a militia. We are groups fighting terrorism in the Gaza Strip ," he says with a smile. Hamas has branded him a traitor. "They call me a criminal, a thief, a member of ISIS, all to frighten people and keep them from contacting me," he said. "But that has not worked. Anyone who kidnaps and kills children, like the Bibas family , has no right to define or judge others. They are subhuman, vile and despicable people and their end is near."

Abu Shabab was living in Sinai and only returned to the Gaza Strip a couple of months before the October 7 massacre.

"Hamas planned their attack on the fateful day, and carried out their attacks without any consideration of the miserable people living in Gaza," he said. "We lost everything. We lost our homes, property, jobs and money while they live in their tunnels underground and lack nothing. Is there a wrong greater than that?"

5 View gallery Yasser Abu Shabab with humanitarian aid in Gaza

He said he and his family moved from Rafah to the humanitarian zone in al-Mawasi . "We saw a difficult life there with hunger, a lack of basic provisions and humiliation and that is when I contacted the Palestinian Authority that supports me."

The first to respond was Mahmoud al-Habbash , an advisor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. "I could not stand the humiliation of suffering of war, especially after Hamas treated us with suspicion because of our connection to the clan in the Sinai, which opposes the Muslim Brothers," he said. "They murdered 52 people, among them my brother, and we Bedouins have honor. We cannot remain silent after such painful humiliation, so I decided, with the support of the PA, to form the Abu-Shabab group."

5 View gallery Abu Shabab fighters on parade

Soon after moving to the humanitarian safe zone, Abu Shabab said he saw how Hamas was disrupting the distribution of aid. "They took all of it," he said. "I decided this cannot go on and began stopping the aid trucks and taking the food to give to the people. I did this for months. Hamas was after me, but my conscious was clear because I was feeding women and children."

5 View gallery Aid brought into the Abu Shabab compound in Rafah

Over time, his popularity grew and dozens of young Gazans joined him. "Anyone who had a gun would come and fight alongside us," he said. "Those who hid weapons, handed them over to me and I felt I was on the right track. Hamas became very weak. We see this on the ground. They run like mice when we fight them. They have new recruits, but those are untrained teenagers who are given guns but don't know what to do with them."

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Abu Shabab says he wants all of the Israeli hostages to go home and the fighting to end. "All innocents, from all sides, should be allowed to return home," he said. "The people of Gaza have paid an unbearable price for an insane terror group and we will not leave the Strip. We will fight Hamas until the last one of them," he said.

5 View gallery School run by the Abu Shabab group in Rafah

In Rafah, the group has been coordinating with the PA, which has delivered humanitarian aid directly to them. "We are joined by people from all over and we help them. They are afraid to live here because it has not been declared a safe zone by the IDF, although we have our own water wells and have even opened a school."

But he denies any connection to Israel. "We are men of peace and do not want war," he said. "We are connected only to the Palestinian Authority, no more."

FiveBoxes on July 7th, 2025 at 21:49 UTC »

I’ve recently heard a theory that Hamas saw October 7th as a Battle of Algiers moment. That they thought their ideological moment was passing, so they went out with a bang, assuming Israeli retaliation would be complete, exterminating Hamas, but ultimately transforming Gaza into an ideologically hardened society that would rise up en masse at some later date. I’m not sure I buy that theory, but has anyone else heard this suspected?

I’ve always assumed that they thought numerous militias, terrorist cells, and Iranian special ops and rockets would back them. But underestimated Israel’s capabilities/resolve, the West’s tolerance for civilian casualties, and Iran’s level of dedication.

AgitatedHoneydew2645 on July 7th, 2025 at 12:08 UTC »

In before reddit labels him a traitor to the Palestinian cause, for working with Israel.

NotSoSaneExile on July 7th, 2025 at 11:55 UTC »

Yasser Abu Shabab, a Bedouin leader from the Tarabin tribe, has become a central figure in the armed resistance against Hamas in southern Gaza. Operating from Rafah, he leads a network of fighters who reject the label "militia" and claim to be combating terrorism in the Strip. His movement has grown rapidly in popularity, especially among young Gazans disillusioned with Hamas's rule.

Abu Shabab returned to Gaza from Sinai shortly before the October 7 attacks. Deeply affected by the violence and suffering brought upon his community, especially the killing of 52 people, including his own brother, he began organizing armed groups with the support of the Palestinian Authority. While Israel is believed to have provided weapons indirectly, he denies any coordination with Israeli forces and maintains his allegiance lies solely with the PA.

According to Abu Shabab, Hamas has lost its legitimacy and the trust of the population. He accuses the group of living comfortably underground while ordinary Gazans endure destruction, hunger, and displacement. After moving with his family to the humanitarian zone in al-Mawasi, he witnessed widespread deprivation and what he describes as systematic theft of aid by Hamas. In response, he and his group began redirecting food aid directly to the public, bypassing Hamas entirely.

As his initiative gained traction, more civilians and former fighters joined his ranks, some even surrendering hidden weapons. He claims that Hamas's forces are now severely weakened, made up mostly of poorly trained teenagers, and unable to effectively confront his fighters. His organization now provides not only security but also essential services, such as water and education, in areas of Rafah under their control.

Despite being branded a traitor by Hamas and wanted for crimes such as treason, Abu Shabab portrays his mission as both humanitarian and patriotic. He says his goal is to liberate Gaza from Hamas’s grip, protect civilians, and help restore normalcy. He supports an end to the conflict and calls for the release of all innocent hostages, stressing that the people of Gaza have already paid a devastating price under Hamas's rule.

Interesting quotes:

> "My clan is spread over an area that extends from the Negev to the Sinai. We are a big family and everyone supports me and my actions"

> Don’t call us a militia. We are groups fighting terrorism in the Gaza Strip

> They call me a criminal, a thief, a member of ISIS, all to frighten people and keep them from contacting me

> But that has not worked. Anyone who kidnaps and kills children, like the Bibas family, has no right to define or judge others. They are subhuman, vile and despicable people and their end is near.

> Hamas planned their attack on the fateful day, and carried out their attacks without any consideration of the miserable people living in Gaza. We lost everything. We lost our homes, property, jobs and money while they live in their tunnels underground and lack nothing. Is there a wrong greater than that?

> I could not stand the humiliation of suffering of war, especially after Hamas treated us with suspicion because of our connection to the clan in the Sinai, which opposes the Muslim Brothers. They murdered 52 people, among them my brother, and we Bedouins have honor. We cannot remain silent after such painful humiliation, so I decided, with the support of the PA, to form the Abu-Shabab group.

> Soon after moving to the humanitarian safe zone, Abu Shabab said he saw how Hamas was disrupting the distribution of aid. "They took all of it," he said. "I decided this cannot go on and began stopping the aid trucks and taking the food to give to the people. I did this for months. Hamas was after me, but my conscious was clear because I was feeding women and children."

> Abu Shabab says he wants all of the Israeli hostages to go home and the fighting to end. "All innocents, from all sides, should be allowed to return home," he said. "The people of Gaza have paid an unbearable price for an insane terror group and we will not leave the Strip. We will fight Hamas until the last one of them," he said.