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Israeli support for the “New Gaza” project of four militias combating Hamas has been revealed: According to Sky News, Israel is supplying support to four militias fighting the terror organization that controls the Gaza Strip, as part of a joint project to remove Hamas from power there. These groups operate in areas under Israeli control — beyond the so‑called “yellow line.” “We have an official project - me, Yasser Abu Shabab, Rami Halas, and Ashraf al Mansi,” militia leader Hossam al-Astal said in a Sky News interview from his base in the southern Gaza Strip. “We are all for 'The New Gaza'. Soon we will achieve full control of the Gaza Strip and will gather under one umbrella.” Two days after that interview, U.S. presidential adviser and son‑in‑law Jared Kushner said the aim is to begin reconstruction of Gaza only in the areas under Israeli control, using the same term. “No reconstruction funds will be going into areas that Hamas still controls,” Kushner said. “There are considerations happening now in the area that the IDF controls, as long as that can be secured, to start the construction as a 'New Gaza' in order to give Palestinians living in Gaza a place to go, a place to get jobs.” Earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported that Americans are considering a plan that divides the Gaza Strip into two zones – one under Israeli control and the other under Hamas control – with reconstruction commencing only on the Israeli‑controlled side. Kushner is leading the initiative, which Arab mediators oppose. On the ground, Israeli forces and bases of al‑Astal’s militia lie adjacent to the yellow line under the agreement. Sky News published satellite images showing the militia’s base on a military road less than 700 meters from an IDF outpost. “I'm hearing the sound of tanks now while I'm speaking, perhaps they're out on patrol or something, but I'm not worried,” al‑Astal said. “They don't engage us, and we don't engage them. We've agreed, through the coordinator, that this is a green zone, not to be targeted by shelling or gunfire.” The area is now a mix of rubble and military earthworks, but was once a suburb of Khan Younis. Al‑Astal said he grew up there, and was forced to flee in 2010 after being pursued by Hamas for involvement with armed groups of the Palestinian Authority. Over the next 11 years he lived abroad, working in PA security services in Egypt and Malaysia. Two years ago he returned to Gaza and was later sentenced to death for involvement in the 2018 killing of a Hamas operative in Malaysia. “When the war started, they left us locked up, hoping the Israelis would bomb the prison and rid them of us. Two months later, we broke down the doors and escaped,” he said. He said that while most of their weapons — mainly Kalashnikov rifles — were previously bought on the black market from Hamas fighters, ammunition and vehicles are now supplied through the Kerem Shalom crossing in coordination with the IDF. The same crossing is used by Yasser Abu Shabab’s militia, considered the largest of the four. Al‑Astal also said his militia acquires vehicles from an Arab‑Israeli car dealer, some of which bore Hebrew inscriptions that were partially erased. He said his group also receives weekly shipments of supplies for civilians in the camp. “We currently provide basic medical and education support to roughly 30 families,” al‑Astal said. “Children can get apples and bananas, food and drink, chips and so on. By contrast, in the other area, in the tents, you find five-, 10- or even 15-year-olds surviving on little more than lentils and pasta.” According to Sky News, the two militias operating in northern Gaza are also receiving supplies from Israel. A member of a northern Gaza militia led by Rami Halas told the outlet that coordination with the IDF is conducted indirectly through the District Coordination Office (DCO), a branch of Israel’s Defense Ministry that includes Palestinian Authority representatives. A soldier stationed at the Kerem Shalom crossing and a senior commander in Abu Shabab’s militia reportedly confirmed that coordination with Israel occurs indirectly, with the Palestinian Authority playing a key role. “I have people within my group who are still, to this day, employees of the Palestinian Authority,” said al-Astal. While the PA has denied any connection to the militias, al-Astal added: “The Palestinian Authority can't admit to having a direct relationship with us. It already has enough issues and doesn't want to add to that burden. You know, if word got out that they had ties with militias or with the occupation forces, you can imagine how that would look.” Although al-Astal acknowledged working with Israel to obtain supplies, he denied any military coordination with the IDF. Previous reports suggested that Israeli airstrikes assisted Abu Shabab’s militia in two battles. When asked whether that support was coordinated, Abu Shabab did not respond. Hamas accused al-Astal’s militia of direct military coordination with Israel after several of its members were killed in an early October clash between armed groups. “I don't control Israeli airstrikes,” al-Astal said. “The Israelis simply saw armed Hamas military groups and struck them.” In April, two months before founding his militia, an Israeli airstrike hit al-Astal’s tent, killing his 22-year-old daughter, Nihad, who was seven months pregnant. “People accuse me of collaboration,” he said. “How can anyone speak about me like that? Were the Israelis 'joking around' with me with a missile?” Sky News also reported that the militias are receiving foreign backing. Abu Shabab’s deputy, Ghassan al Duhine, was photographed standing next to a vehicle with United Arab Emirates license plates. The group’s emblem closely resembles that of a UAE-backed militia operating in Yemen. Al‑Astal’s group also uses a symbol linked to a UAE-backed Yemeni militia. When asked if the Emirates are supporting his forces, al‑Astal replied, “God willing, in time everything will become clear. But yes, there are Arab countries that support our project.” He confirmed the name they chose: “The New Gaza.” “Very soon, God willing, you will see this for yourselves,” he said. “We will become the new administration of Gaza. Our project is 'The New Gaza'. No war, at peace with everyone - no Hamas, no terrorism.”
