Israeli-backed militia kills PIJ member in Gaza amid string of attacks by Tel Aviv's proxy forces

An Israeli-backed Palestinian militia killed a member of the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), on Friday during an attempt to abduct him in al-Qarara, north of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, according to the group.

In a press statement, the Al-Quds Brigades said a militia force advanced towards al-Qarara at dawn, with support from Israeli drones, in an attempt to abduct one of its members.

The Al-Quds Brigades said its fighters detected the force and engaged it with grenades and medium weapons at close range.

Several militia members were killed or wounded before Israeli drones intervened to cover their withdrawal, according to the group.

The drones then allegedly killed Fadi al-Abadla, a member of the Al-Qarara Battalion of the Khan Younis Brigade, leaving his body at the scene, according to the statement. The militia withdrew with its dead and wounded.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military or the alleged militia.

Separately, speaking with The New Arab, local residents in Khan Younis said they heard gunfire and clashes in al-Qarara during the early morning, coinciding with the presence of Israeli drones.

One eyewitness said the area had recently seen a growing presence of armed groups, while residents were unable to identify the force or determine its objective.

The incident came two days after Moen al-Arabeed, head of Hamas's internal security apparatus in Gaza, was abducted from Gaza City.

Palestinian sources initially suggested Israeli-backed militias were responsible, but Hamas sources later said an Israeli special forces unit had carried out the operation directly.

The two incidents have brought renewed attention to the activities of Palestinian armed groups reportedly operating with Israeli support.

Israel's Palestinian proxies

An investigation published by Haaretz in late August, based on testimonies from Israeli soldiers and officers, satellite imagery and conversations with Gaza residents, identified five-armed militias operating at six locations across the Strip and receiving Israeli financial and military support.

According to the investigation, the Israeli army and Shin Bet maintain close coordination with the groups, which are primarily hostile to Hamas.

An Israeli Air Force officer quoted by Haaretz said the government, army and Shin Bet send armed and trained militias into Gaza to carry out security missions, while the Air Force is instructed to protect them during their operations.

The groups are tasked with pursuing Hamas and other Palestinian faction members, conducting raids and kidnappings, gathering intelligence and operating in areas where Israeli forces face difficulties moving directly, according to Haaretz.

They have also been accused of attacking Palestinian civilians, looting property and burning homes, as well as participating in efforts to drive residents from certain areas.

The Yasser Abu Shabab group has emerged as one of the most prominent of these formations. It operated mainly in southern Gaza, particularly Rafah, and openly acknowledged cooperation with Israel.

In July 2025, Abu Shabab told an Israeli television channel that his group received support from the Israeli military.

Despite Abu Shabab's subsequent death under unclear circumstances, Haaretz reported that Israel's militia strategy continued to develop, particularly following the October 2025 ceasefire.

The groups do not appear capable of replacing the Israeli military or independently controlling Gaza. Instead, their role appears focused on specific security and intelligence operations, allowing Israel to use local Palestinian actors against its opponents.

'Tools of Israel'

Gaza-based political analyst Ahed Ferwana told TNA that Israel's reliance on the militias forms part of a strategy to create local Palestinian forces capable of carrying out operations inside Gaza.

"The militias cannot be regarded as independent Palestinian forces given their Israeli funding, weapons and operational coordination," he said.

He warned that their expansion could deepen Palestinian divisions by shifting confrontation towards armed clashes between Palestinian groups.

Akram Attallah, a political analyst in Gaza, told TNA that the militias are "tools of Israel […] Tel Aviv uses them when it wants to conduct operations indirectly but deploys its own forces when an operation exceeds their capabilities".

Attallah said the abduction of Moen al-Arabeed demonstrated the overlap between direct Israeli military operations and those carried out through locally backed armed groups.

He added that Israel can shift between using Palestinian proxies and deploying its own forces depending on an operation's nature and scale, making the distinction between the militias and the Israeli military increasingly difficult to separate.

For Attallah, the development of these groups reflects a broader Israeli effort to create Palestinian actors capable of performing security functions inside Gaza, potentially reshaping the Strip's security landscape and deepening divisions between Palestinian factions.