Popular ForcesPalestinian anti-Hamas militiaThe Popular Forces, also known as the Anti-Terror Service, is a Palestinian anti-Hamas armed group active in the Gaza Strip which was founded by Yasser Abu Shabab during the Gaza war. Following Yasser Abu Shabab's death on 4 December 2025, Ghassan Duhine proclaimed himself the new leader. The Popular Forces are Israeli-backed and allegedly Islamic State (IS)-linked.
Palestinian AuthorityThe Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a consequence of the 1993–1995 Oslo Accords.
Rafah offensive2024–2025 Israeli offensive along the Egypt–Gaza borderBelligerents IsraelIsraeli allies:Popular Forces(from May 2024) HamasPalestinian allies: Palestinian Islamic Jihad Popular Front for the Liberation of PalestineDemocratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades Popular Resistance CommitteesAbdul al-Qadir al-Husseini BrigadesCommanders and leadersYaron FinkelmanYaniv AsorItzik CohenTomer Bar Liron BetitoBeni Aharon Omer CohenYasser Abu Shabab (Popular Forces)Yahya Sinwar †Mohammed Deif XMohammed Sinwar XMuhammad Shabana X Mahmoud Hamdan † Yousef Qadi Muhammed Zaarab Units involvedShow units: Israel Defense Forces Israeli Ground ForcesSouthern Command36th Division188th Armored Brigade 282nd Artillery BrigadeGolani Brigade12th Battalion98th DivisionOz BrigadeEgoz UnitMaglanParatroopers Brigade146th Division 4th Armored Brigade 205th Armored Brigade 5250th Battalion9215th Battalion162nd DivisionGivati Brigade846th BattalionReconnaissance BattalionShaked BattalionTzabar Battalion401st Brigade 9th Battalion 46th BattalionBislamach Brigade450th BattalionNahal Brigade50th BattalionGadsar NahalGranite Battalion252nd DivisionNegev BrigadeArmored CorpsGaza DivisionDesert Reconnaissance Battalion7th Armored BrigadeCombat Engineering Corps601st Battalion 710th Battalion 7107th BattalionYahalomCombat Intelligence Collection CorpsHome Front Command489th Search & Rescue BattalionOketz Unit Israeli Air Force123rd Squadron7th WingUnit 669 Israeli NavyShayetet 13Military Intelligence DirectorateUnit 504Ministry of DefenseShin BetPopular ForcesCounter-Terrorism ServiceShow units:Palestinian Joint Operations RoomAl-Qassam BrigadesRafah Brigade Eastern Rafah BattalionShaboura BattalionTel al-Sultan BattalionYibna BattalionAl-Quds BrigadesAbu Ali Mustafa BrigadesNational Resistance BrigadesAl-Aqsa Martyrs' BrigadesAl-Nasser Salah al-Deen BrigadesAbdul al-Qadir al-Husseini BrigadesStrength 3,000–5,000+ soldiers300+ Popular Forces militants (per Hamas)Per Israel:8,000+ militants 7,000–8,000Casualties and lossesPer Israel:44 soldiers, 1 Defense Ministry contractor killed109 soldiers, 1 Military Intelligence Directorate interrogator and 2 Defense Ministry employees injured1 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashedSeveral Popular Forces militants killed Per Hamas:20+ Popular Forces militants killedPer Israel (disputed, see Combatant casualties): 2,308+ fighters killed 2 UN staff members killed, 1 WHO staff member injured 2 Egyptian border guards killed8 Israeli hostages killed, 3 civilians injured1,000,000+ Palestinians displaced (est.)The Rafah offensive was an Israeli military offensive in and around the city of Rafah, beginning on 6 May 2024 as part of Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war.
Territory of the Popular ForcesDuring the Gaza war, the Popular Forces, an anti-Hamas, Israeli-backed, and allegedly Islamic State-linked armed group, has claimed control over large amounts of the Gaza Strip that are currently under Israeli military occupation. This was the first area in Gaza not administrated by Hamas since 2007. The group claims Al-Bayuk as its capital, and controls parts of eastern Rafah, Khan Yunis, western Rafah, and humanitarian aid routes near the Kerem Shalom border crossing.
Kerem Shalom aid convoy lootingOn 16 November 2024, the Popular Forces, an Israeli-backed militia/gang accused of links with the Islamic State, raided a convoy of 109 United Nations aid trucks and looted 98 of them, near Israeli military installations at the Kerem Shalom border crossing in the Gaza Strip. The perpetrators, who according to a UN memo may have had "protection" from the Israel Defense Forces, threw grenades and held truck drivers at gunpoint, forcing them to unload their aid.
Gaza StripAutonomous territory in the Middle EastThe Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the West Bank) that make up the State of Palestine in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Gaza is bordered by Egypt on the southwest, Israel on the east and north, and the to the west. Its capital and largest city is Gaza City.
Rafah31°16′21″N34°15′31″E / 31.27250°N 34.25861°E / 31.27250; 34.25861Rafah (Arabic: رفحRafaḥ) is a largely destroyed and depopulated city in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, that serves as the capital of the Rafah Governorate. It is located 30 kilometers (19 mi) south-west of Gaza City. In 2017, Rafah had a population of 171,889.
Khan YunisKhan Yunis (Arabic: خان يونس, lit.'khan (caravanserai) [of] Yunis'), also spelled Khan Younis or Khan Yunus, is a city in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, and serves as the capital of the Khan Yunis Governorate. It has been largely destroyed during the Gaza war, and is currently split by the yellow line with Hamas controlling its north and Israel controlling its south. Before the 14th century, Khan Yunis was a village known as "Salqah".
Gaza warOngoing armed conflict in the Middle EastBelligerents HamasPalestinian Joint Operations Room IsraelAnti-Hamas groupsPopular ForcesCommanders and leadersIsmail Haniyeh XYahya Sinwar †Khalil al-HayyaMohammed Deif XMohammed Sinwar XIzz al-Din al-Haddad XMohammed Odeh XBenjamin NetanyahuYoav GallantIsrael KatzHerzi HaleviEyal ZamirRonen BarDavid ZiniUnits involved See Order of battleStrength 20,000–40,000 529,500Casualties and lossesGaza Strip:80,820+ reported killed ("indirect" deaths may be many times higher)174,369+ wounded12,000+ detainedIsrael:1,200+ militants killed and 200+ capturedTotal killed: 82,020+Total:802+ civilians killed1,154+ security personnel killed13,500+ civilians and soldiers wounded251 captured or abducted (85 killed)Total killed: 2,041+The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and Israel, fought as part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflicts.Ghassan DuhineGhassan Duhine (Arabic: غسان الدهيني; born 3 October 1987) is the second and current leader of the Israeli-backed Popular Forces armed group in the Gaza Strip. Following the killing of the group's founder Yasser Abu Shabab in a dispute with the Abu Suneima family on 4 December 2025, Duhine declared himself the new leader of the group.
Humanitarian aidMaterial or logistical assistance for people in needHumanitarian aid being distributed in HaitiA UNICEF worker is distributing high-calorie food during an emergency situation in Goma, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in 2008.Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance, usually in the short-term, to people in need. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and victims of natural disasters, wars, and famines.
Tarabin BedouinThe Tirabin (Arabic: الترابين) were the most important Arab tribe in the Sinai Peninsula during the 19th century, and the largest inside Negev. Today this tribe resides in the Sinai Peninsula but also in Cairo, Ismailia, Giza, Al Sharqia and Suez, Israel (Negev), Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the Gaza Strip. A township named Tirabin al-Sana was built in Israel in 2004 especially for the members of al-Sana clan of Al-Tirabin tribe.
BedouinNomadic Arab tribesEthnic groupBedouins in the Sinai Region, 1967The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; Arabic: بَدْو, romanized: badw, singular بَدَوِيbadawī) are pastorally semi-nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq/Kuwait).*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.