The head of an armed Palestinian faction that opposes Hamas in Gaza died while mediating a family dispute, the group said on Thursday.
Yasser Abu Shabab, a Bedouin tribal leader based in Israeli-held Rafah in southern Gaza, had led the most prominent of several small anti-Hamas groups that emerged in Gaza during the war that began more than two years ago.
His death would be a boost to Hamas, which has branded him a collaborator and ordered its fighters to kill or capture him.
Gaza's Popular Forces said in a statement that its leader died of a gunshot wound as he intervened in a family quarrel, and dismissed as "misleading" reports that Hamas was behind his killing.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged in June that Israel had armed anti-Hamas clans, though Israel has announced few other details of the policy since then.
Abu Shabab's group has continued to operate from areas of Gaza controlled by Israeli forces since Hamas and Israel reached a U.S.-backed ceasefire in October.
Rafah has been the scene of some of the worst violence during the ceasefire. Residents had reported gunbattles there on Wednesday, and Israel said four of its soldiers were wounded.
The Israeli military said on Thursday its forces had killed some 40 Hamas militants trapped in tunnels below Rafah.
On 18 November, Abu Shabab's group posted a video showing dozens of fighters receiving orders from his deputy to launch a security sweep to "clear Rafah of terror", an apparent reference to Hamas fighters believed to be holed up there.
The Popular Forces vowed to continue Abu Shabab's path and to "fight terrorism" in Gaza, the group said.
Abu Shabab's death was first reported by Israeli media including Kan, Israel's public broadcaster, citing a security source.
Israel's Army Radio, also citing a security source, said he had died in Soroka hospital in southern Israel of unspecified wounds, but the hospital denied admitting him.
Germany is divided over whether to boycott the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States if U.S. President Donald Trump were to follow through on remar...
Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump is the only leader capable of exerting real pressure on Isra...
Iran will treat any military attack as an “all-out war,” a senior Iranian official said on Friday, as the United States moves additional naval and...
The U.S. military carried out a strike on a vessel suspected of narco-trafficking in the Eastern Pacific on Friday, killing two people and leaving one...
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has accused U.S. President Donald Trump of making “insulting and frankly appalling” remarks about Nato forces in Af...
Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump is the only leader capable of exerting real pressure on Israel to halt its military actions in Gaza, arguing that Trump can act independently if he chooses.
Belgium has banned aircraft transporting weapons and military equipment to Israel from using its airspace or making technical stops, the Foreign Ministry confirmed to Anadolu on Friday.
The United Nations says Israeli crews have begun bulldozing the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) headquarters in east Jerusalem. The move comes amid increasing crackdowns on humanitarian groups.
Israel said on Saturday that the Trump administration’s announcement on the composition of a new Gaza executive board was made without coordination and contradicts Israeli government policy.
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States has an "armada" heading toward Iran but hoped he would not have to use it, as he renewed warnings to Tehran against killing protesters or restarting its nuclear programme.
A commuter train collided with a construction crane in southeastern Spain on Thursday (22 January), injuring several passengers, days after a high-speed rail disaster in Andalusia killed at least 43 people.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has told his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian that Türkiye opposes any form of foreign intervention in Iran, as protests and economic pressures continue to fuel tensions in the Islamic republic.
In the snowy peaks of Davos, where the world’s most powerful leaders gather for the 56th World Economic Forum, a new narrative is emerging that challenges the current dominance of artificial intelligence (AI).
The first day of trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. ended in Abu Dhabi on Friday, with officials saying discussions were productive and would continue on Saturday.
The Turkish Defence Ministry has called for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)’s “unconditional compliance” with the 18 January ceasefire agreement between the Kurdish-led militant group and Damascus.
The claim that U.S. President Donald Trump's intervention stopped the execution of 800 detainees is "completely false", said prosecutor-general of Iran, Mohammad Movahedi on Friday (23 January). According to him, the number cited by Trump does not exist and the judiciary has made no such decision.
The United Nations nuclear watchdog must clarify its stance on U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran's nuclear sites last June that lasted 12 days, before inspectors are allowed to visit those facilities, Iranian media on Friday quoted the country's atomic chief as saying.
SOCAR’s Carbamide plant in Sumgayit has been recognised by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as a Global Lighthouse site, marking Azerbaijan’s first inclusion in the Forum’s flagship Industry 4.0 network.
United Nations agencies have taken over the management of vast detention camps in northeastern Syria housing tens of thousands of people associated with Islamic State (IS), after Kurdish-led forces guarding the sites withdrew amid clashes with Syrian government troops.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment