Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has admitted that Israel is supporting an armed group in Gaza that opposes the militant group Hamas - designated a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union.
Israeli and Palestinian media have reported that the group Israel is working with is part of a local Bedouin tribe led by Yasser Abu Shabab.
The institute called the European Council on Foreign Relations describes Abu Shabaab as the leader of "a criminal gang operating in the Rafah area, which is widely accused of looting aid trucks."
Israeli Knesset member and former Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman told public broadcaster Kan that the government, on Netanyahu's orders, is "giving weapons to a group of criminals and convicts."
"What did Lieberman make public? That based on the advice of security officials, we have activated clans in Gaza that oppose Hamas. What's wrong with this?" Netanyahu asked in a video posted on social media.
"There are only good things, the lives of Israeli soldiers are being saved."
Michael Milshtein, an expert on Palestinian affairs at the Moshe Dayan Center in Tel Aviv, told AFP news agency that the Abu Shabaab clan has expanded beyond the borders between Gaza and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.
Israeli military spokeswoman General Effie Defrin said on Friday that the army supports local armed militias in Gaza, but did not provide further details.
"I can say that we are operating in various ways against the Hamas government," Defrin said at a press conference when asked about the topic.
Israel has been at war with Hamas for nearly 20 months – a conflict instigated by the terrorist group after it carried out an attack on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023.
The situation in Gaza is currently reported to be serious, as a result of the blockade of aid by the Israeli authorities./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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