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<div class="gmail-inner-article-top"><h1 class="gmail-">From Syria to Gaza: Israel's proxy playbook returns</h1><p class="gmail-">Tel
Aviv has handed Gaza\u2019s warfront to death squads and collaborators,
using the cover of a ceasefire to wage a proxy campaign against the
resistance.</p><div class="gmail-another-name"><p><a href="https://thecradle.co/authors/robert-inlakesh" style="color:rgb(164,4,4)">Robert Inlakesh</a></p></div><div class="gmail-another-name" style="margin-top:16px"><p><span style="color:rgb(84,88,94)">OCT 21, 2025 - </span><font size="1"><a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/from-syria-to-gaza-israels-proxy-playbook-returns">https://thecradle.co/articles/from-syria-to-gaza-israels-proxy-playbook-returns</a></font></p></div></div><div class="gmail-inner-article-img"><img src="https://thecradle-main.oss-eu-central-1.aliyuncs.com/public/articles/a4004a6e-ae98-11f0-a994-00163e02c055.jpeg" alt="" width="395" height="187" style="margin-right: 0px;"><span>Photo Credit: The Cradle</span></div><div class="gmail-inner-article-content"><div class="gmail-row"><div class="gmail-col-md-8 gmail-col-sm-7"><div class="gmail-article-content"><span class="gmail-article-body"><p>With the <a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/israel-violates-ceasefire-with-deadly-attacks-on-palestinians-in-gaza">already violated</a>
ceasefire in place, and Israeli occupation forces implementing a phased
withdrawal, Gaza remains under siege, this time through Tel Aviv\u2019s use
of armed collaborator militias. </p><p>Drawing on <a href="https://warontherocks.com/2018/02/israels-deepening-involvement-syrias-rebels/?">tactics refined in Syria</a>,
these death squads have been unleashed to assassinate resistance
figures, sow chaos, and undermine what remains of the Hamas-led
administration.</p><p>Three proxy groups backed by Tel Aviv have since
escalated their military campaigns against Gaza\u2019s security forces and
society. These militias of collaborator death squads have been used to
stir chaos on direct orders of the Israeli army, seeking to establish
bases of control in the portions of the territory that Israel has yet to
withdraw from.</p><p>Upon the cessation of hostilities between the Israeli military and Palestinian resistance factions, at least <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8482418plo">7,000 security personnel</a>
affiliated with the Hamas-led civil administration took to the streets
of Gaza to establish law and order. Yet, almost immediately, they were
confronted with ambushes, and armed <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg5e551j593o">clashes</a> broke out in a number of areas of the territory.</p><p>In
particular, the armed clashes in northern Gaza have received the most
attention in the media, with Israeli and a handful of Palestinian
Authority (PA) aligned personalities attempting to sell the situation as
a \u201ccivil war.\u201d </p><p><strong>Collaborator militias exploit the Gaza ceasefire</strong></p><p>Amid the chaos, the son of senior Hamas leader Bassem Naim was shot in the head by proxy forces. <a href="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/from-drug-lords-to-death-squads-israels-gaza-war-continues-through-collaborator-gangs/">Mohammed Imad Aqel</a>, son of a prominent Qassam Brigades commander, was murdered by members of the Doghmush clan. And <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2025/10/14/the-assassination-of-saleh-aljafarawi-is-meant-to-send-a-dark-message">Saleh al-Jaafarawi</a>, a prominent journalist, was kidnapped, tortured, and shot dead at point-blank range.</p><p>At the beginning of October, in Khan Yunis, the Majayda family <a href="https://t.me/thecradlemedia/43540">reportedly</a>
collaborated with Hossam al-Astal under Israeli air cover, launching
attacks on security positions \u2013 a key example of Tel Aviv\u2019s use of clan
structures to advance its proxy war strategy. </p><p>Israeli researcher Or Fialkov <a href="https://x.com/TheCradleMedia/status/1977839474827514298">noted</a>: </p><blockquote><p>\u201cThe
Majaydeh clan from Khan Yunis \u2013 which fought Hamas a week ago \u2013
announces it has disarmed. The clan, which received assistance from the
Israeli army in airstrikes against Hamas members, said it has handed
over its weapons to Hamas. Hamas is settling scores across the strip and
showing everyone who is in charge.\u201d</p></blockquote><p>To counter the <a href="https://www.972mag.com/gaza-social-collapse-criminal-gangs/">threat</a> posed by these armed <a href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250908-palestinian-resistance-executes-6-in-gaza-over-collaboration-with-israeli-forces/">collaborators</a>, Hamas formed two new specialized units. The first, Sahm (<a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/gaza-interior-ministry-creates-arrow-unit-to-deal-with-gangs-blackmailing-aid-groups">Arrow</a>)
Forces, is comprised of officers from the civil security services. The
second, the Resistance Security Force (Amn al-Muqawamah), includes
fighters from Hamas\u2019s military wing, as well as those from the Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Palestinian Islamic Jihad
(PIJ), Fatah al-Intifada, and other factions.</p><p>A senior security source in northern Gaza tells <i>The Cradle</i>
that a document containing a hit list was discovered during a raid on a
collaborator's hideout. Although the document itself could not be
shared, the source claims it noted that Israel\u2019s \u201cgoal is to create
chaos, to carry out assassinations, allow for lawlessness, and to fight
the resistance through its collaborators.\u201d</p><p>This account was reinforced in a <i>KAN News</i> <a href="https://www.kan.org.il/content/kan-news/defense/959033/">interview</a>,
in which the leader of one collaborator militia confirmed that the
Israeli army is providing his forces with security support and
authorization to operate beyond the so-called Yellow Line. Roughly 54\u201358
percent of Gaza is still under the occupation army's control.</p><p>US advisors recently informed <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/10/16/gaza-deal-hamas-exocutions-israel-hostages"><i>Axios</i></a>
that Washington is working on an Israeli-backed plan to create pathways
for Palestinians opposed to Hamas to live outside of Israel\u2019s Yellow
Line. To this effect, the Israeli military is currently marking this
line by installing cement blocks and security equipment to demarcate its
boundaries.</p><p>According to <a href="https://www.israelhayom.co.il/news/geopolitics/article/19051830"><i>Israel Hayom</i></a>,
the American-Israeli plan seeks to use Gaza reconstruction funds to
begin rebuilding hospitals, schools, and homes inside the territory that
is jointly controlled by the Israeli army and its ISIS-linked proxy
groups. </p><p>Under this scheme, Palestinians will be presented with
the choice to live under Hamas along the coast or inside the newly
constructed areas. It appears as if a proposed multinational military
force will also be used to help implement such a model.</p><p>Despite
this, the collaborator groups currently operating there do not enjoy
popular support, and Israel is continuing to demolish the remaining
civilian infrastructure located there. Meanwhile, all the major
families, segments of whom began fighting Gaza\u2019s security forces, have <a href="https://x.com/AJArabic/status/1978348739506119036">issued</a> statements aligning themselves with Hamas and against any collaborators in their midst. </p><p>The Ramallah-based PA has also expressed its interest in vying for power in the Gaza Strip, yet Israel has at least publicly <a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/no-rule-without-resistance-gazas-post-war-future-and-the-collapse-of-foreign-illusions">rejected</a>
this idea over fears that this will put it in a stronger position to
demand a Palestinian State. Nevertheless, the PA has been part of a
propaganda campaign designed to delegitimize Hamas as a political entity
in Gaza and accuses it of indiscriminately targeting its opponents.</p><p><strong>Tel Aviv retools death squads as \u2018Popular Forces\u2019</strong></p><p>Throughout the two-year Israeli war on Gaza, humanitarian aid convoys were <a href="https://thecradle.co/articles-id/27654">routinely looted</a>
in the southern enclave, triggering food shortages and creating a
booming black market. The looting initially involved armed clans and
petty criminals who charged <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/feeding-gaza-traders-run-gauntlet-bullets-bombs-bribes-2024-07-04/">extortionate bribes</a> for aid access. But following the 6 May invasion of Rafah, the phenomenon transformed into a more coordinated enterprise.</p><p>That evolution gave rise to the Abu Shabab militia, a gang led by convicted drug trafficker <a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/yasser-abu-shabab-israels-agent-of-chaos-in-gaza">Yasser Abu Shabab</a>,
who has long-standing links to ISIS affiliates in Sinai. His fighters,
many from the Bedouin Tarabin clan, have ties stretching from
Israeli-occupied Bir al-Saba (Beersheba) to Egypt\u2019s Sinai Peninsula. </p><p>A Hamas official familiar with the file on drug trafficking tells <i>The Cradle</i>:</p><blockquote><p>\u201cThese
individuals were known to routinely cross into the Sinai and maintained
close ties to extremists. These criminal elements were also tied to the
Ansar Bait al-Maqdis group [ISIS in the Sinai] and later Wilayat Sinai
that came after it. These people do not have a coherent ideology and
will shift over time, they are criminals, which is why they are also
involved in activities like drug smuggling, and their connections come
through familial ties.\u201d</p></blockquote><p>Following the surface of footage of these militants driving around in SUVs bearing <a href="https://www.972mag.com/gaza-social-collapse-criminal-gangs/">Sharjah license plates</a> registered in the UAE, sources belonging to <a href="https://en.al-akhbar.com/news/israel-seeks-to-clone-abu-shabab-s-militia-model-across-gaza"><i>Al-Akhbar</i></a> claimed that Emirati intelligence has been cooperating with these militia forces.</p><p>A
month prior to the introduction of the Abu Shabab aid looting gang to
the scene, Israel\u2019s top human rights group B\u2019Tselem had issued a report
accusing Tel Aviv of \u201c<a href="https://www.btselem.org/publications/202404_manufacturing_famine">manufacturing famine</a>\u201d
in the enclave. A later investigation conducted by Sky News revealed
that while most Palestinians were suffering a severe food shortage, the
Abu Shabab gangs were <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/guns-cash-and-american-aid-investigation-reveals-israels-support-for-gaza-militia-13442260">living a life of luxury</a>, with an abundance of stolen aid, along with vehicles and weapons supplied by Israel.</p><p>This group, despite becoming infamous throughout Gaza for <a href="https://www.liberation.fr/checknews/a-gaza-le-role-trouble-de-yasser-abu-shabab-chef-de-gang-et-pillard-accuse-doperer-avec-laval-de-larmee-israelienne-20250531_APMTV2X7BJDD7CQDB55SPFRNUM/">stealing</a>
aid from humanitarian organizations, demanding a $4,000 bribe fee for
each truck, was soon to be destined for a task much more pernicious. </p><p>In November 2024, the Israelis saw that it was time to give their aid looting cadres a facelift, as the <i>Washington Post</i> interviewed Yasser Abu Shabab himself, who is portrayed as a criminal by necessity and claims that \u201c<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/11/18/gaza-looting-aid-convoys-israel-famine/">Hamas has left us with nothing</a>.\u201d</p><p>Amid
the January ceasefire, the gang resurfaced as the \u201cPopular Forces,\u201d now
dressed in Israeli tactical gear and openly operating with occupation
military backing.</p><p>The <i>Wall Street Journal</i> (WSJ) even published an op-ed supposedly authored by Abu Shabab <a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/gazans-are-finished-with-hamas-commander-popular-forces-5d9a6345">titled</a> \u201cGazans are finished with Hamas.\u201d Local sources confirm to <i>The Cradle</i> that the militia leader is illiterate and could not have authored a piece in Arabic, let alone English.</p><p>By June, former Israeli minister Avigdor Lieberman publicly <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-06-05/ty-article/israel-arming-isis-affiliated-anti-hamas-gaza-militia-ex-defense-chief-claims/00000197-3f88-d079-ab97-7fcdd7120000">accused</a>
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of backing ISIS-linked
militias in Gaza. Netanyahu not only confirmed the collaboration \u2013 but
defended it. Then, in September, <i>Haaretz</i> <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-09-17/ty-article/.premium/idf-shin-bet-using-gazan-militias-for-military-operations-in-exchange-for-pay-and-land/00000199-5822-d0dc-afdb-dab715ac0000">reported</a> that Popular Forces militias were receiving direct orders from the Israeli army and Shin Bet.</p><p><strong>Israel's proxy model expands across Gaza's clans</strong></p><p>As
the Israeli military was experiencing a manpower crisis, recently
struggling to recruit 60,000 soldiers for operation \u201cGideon\u2019s Chariots
2\u201d to occupy Gaza City, it made the decision to expand this proxy
militia strategy. </p><p>In August, Israel worked alongside <a href="https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2025/09/new-anti-hamas-militia-emerges-in-gaza.php">Hossam al-Astal</a>, a former member of the PA\u2019s Preventive Security Forces (<a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/the-pas-west-bank-crackdown-a-crisis-of-legitimacy">PSF</a>),
to form the \u201cCounterterrorism Strike Force\u201d (CSF) that would run
operations in the Khan Yunis area of Gaza. Astal, according to two
security sources speaking to <i>The Cradle</i>, had long been suspected of holding ties with the Israeli Shin Bet.</p><p>Alongside the CSF, new groups like the \u201cPeople\u2019s Army Northern Forces\u201d (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/643227756/videos/the-militia-peoples-army-northern-forces-led-by-ashraf-al-mansi-held-a-military-/770282759154735/">PANF</a>) have emerged in Jabalia and Beit Lahia. Led by Ashraf Mansi, who had been <a href="https://palps.net/?p=11029">openly praised</a>
by Abu Shabab. The PANF consists of drug dealers and ex-Jaish al-Islam
fighters, some linked to ISIS. The group even held an armed parade after
the ceasefire, before engaging in clashes with Gaza\u2019s <a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/trump-claims-hamas-received-approval-to-conduct-security-operations-throughout-gaza">Radaa</a> security unit, which <a href="https://palps.net/?p=11399">captured</a> several of its fighters.</p><p>In Gaza City, the <a href="https://timelinedaily.com/west-asia/who-are-doghmush-the-group-clashing-with-hamas-in-gaza-after-israels-withdrawal">Doghmush clan</a>
launched a violent campaign to assert control over parts of the north.
It raided civilian homes, looted properties, and allegedly murdered
prominent figures. After the killing of journalist Saleh al-Jaafarawi,
Hamas cracked down, arresting dozens and killing up to 40 armed members
of the clan.</p><p>The family has long developed a negative image
throughout Gaza, due to actions committed by certain elements within it,
dating back decades to before the Intifada, when individuals from the
Doghmush family would steal cars from Israeli-held territory. The
Mukhtar of the clan was assassinated by Israel back in 2023, and
according to local reports, groups of men within the family have been
arming themselves throughout the war.</p><p>Soon after tensions
escalated, especially surrounding the murder of Jaafarawi and the
clashes that ensued on Sunday, the Doghmush family released a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/shrouq.mohammed.doghmosh/posts/pfbid029M1a17bXLBVkwSqtGct3sLRbGRj3zNz1JHi27o5zRsX8aUHihEu1rg5Y9YhTuwwUl">statement</a>
disavowing collaborators and \u201ctransgressors,\u201d reminding the public of
how many members of the clan were killed by Israel. It is still unclear
whether the militants from the Doghmush family were working alongside
the PANF militia or were operating as a solo force motivated by control
of territory.</p><p>However, the Doghmush clan represents a more complex
case. While certain elements have openly collaborated with Israeli
intelligence, others have refused such alliances. The clan is divided,
with some fighting Hamas for over two decades, and others remaining
within resistance ranks. </p><p>Reports have also linked segments of the clan to Dahlan networks and Emirati funding, alongside Salafi militant ties.</p><p>Salafist group Jaish al-Islam, once led by <a href="https://ecfr.eu/special/mapping_palestinian_politics/jaysh_al_islam_gaza/">Mumtaz Doghmush</a>,
was responsible for the 2006 kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad
Shalit. Initially allied with Hamas, the group later turned against it,
pledging allegiance to Al-Qaeda and even kidnapping two Fox News
journalists. </p><p>Hamas has long battled Salafist militants inside
Gaza, including Jund Allah and the Sheikh Omar Hadid Brigade. In 2009,
it crushed Jund Allah in Rafah after the group attempted to declare an \u201c<a href="https://www.longwarjournal.org/videos/2009/08/post.php">Islamic emirate</a>.\u201d By 2015, the Omar Hadid Brigade was dismantled. In 2018, ISIS formally declared war on Hamas.</p><p>Today,
Israel\u2019s proxy fighters recycle the same Salafi justifications. Popular
Forces fighter Ghassan Duhine, for instance, cited ISIS fatwas branding
Hamas as <a href="https://x.com/muhammadshehad2/status/1977620623540330573?s=46&t=VtgaWbezdFOcXh_wTtBe2Q">apostates</a> who deserve death.</p><p>But
despite Israeli efforts to fragment Gaza\u2019s internal cohesion, many
families and clans have pushed back. The Majayda family has denounced
collaborators, as have key members of the Tarabin clan. </p><p>\u201cIsrael
hoped to install these agents to run concentration camps for
Palestinians, like they planned in Rafah with the Gaza Humanitarian
Foundation,\u201d a senior Hamas official tells <i>The Cradle</i>. \u201cBut our people can see through all of these conspiracies.\u201d</p><p>While
Tel Aviv pretends its military campaign is on pause, the facts on the
ground reveal otherwise. Israel has outsourced the next phase of its war
to collaborators, criminals, and extremists \u2013 executing its war
objectives through mercenaries while claiming plausible deniability. It
is a page taken straight from its playbook in Syria, now recycled in
Gaza with deadly effect.</p></span></div></div></div></div>
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