The Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth has reported that two additional armed groups affiliated with Fatah are operating inside the Gaza Strip with coordination and support from Israel. One militia is said to be active in Gaza City, while the other is based in Khan Younis — both areas where Israeli occupation forces are currently deployed as part of the “Gideon’s Chariots” operation.
Last month, sources within the Palestinian Authority told the newspaper that they expected two more militias to enter Gaza soon. On Wednesday evening, those same sources confirmed that these are the very groups now collaborating with the Israeli army. According to the paper, both factions receive funding from the Palestinian Authority.
The report specifies that one of these armed militias, which works in direct coordination with Israel, is currently active in the Shuja’iyya neighbourhood. In this area, Israeli forces are positioning for potential operations against Hamas strongholds in Gaza City. This group is led by Rami Halles, a Fatah activist from Gaza.
The Halles family has had longstanding disputes with Hamas since the movement took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, with a history of severe violence against its members. The family is one of the largest in Gaza, with most living in Shuja’iyya near the Nahal Oz area. Rami Halles himself reportedly resides in Tel al-Hawa, southwest of Gaza City.
Sources cited by Yedioth Ahronoth claim Halles and his men possess large stockpiles of weapons and are protected by Israeli occupation forces. The Halles family remains closely tied to Fatah’s leadership; one of its most prominent figures, Ahmad Halles — known as Abu Maher — is a member of Fatah’s Central Committee and President Mahmoud Abbas’s representative in Gaza.
In parallel, another Fatah-linked armed group operates in Khan Younis, a major Hamas stronghold. This militia is led by Yasser Hanideq, a local Fatah activist who opposes Hamas’s rule. Like Rami Halles, Hanideq and his men receive weapons and humanitarian supplies from Israel, along with salaries from the Palestinian Authority.
Hanideq and his followers reportedly target individuals linked to Hamas, including the case of Salama Barbakh — a senior former officer in the Preventive Security Service of the Palestinian Authority, who was assassinated by Hamas members in June 2007 while attempting to flee toward the Egyptian border. Barbakh himself was allegedly involved in assassinating former Hamas operatives and was part of an anti-Hamas faction within Fatah.
Yedioth Ahronoth described Halles and Hanideq as examples of the deep internal rift within Fatah and Hamas, a divide that has resurfaced recently in Gaza as Hamas’s control faces growing challenges.
Analysts estimate that Israel is working to mobilise local anti-Hamas elements, a tactic likely to expand this cooperation despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s repeated declarations that there will be no “Hamastan” or “Fatahstan” in Gaza.
The paper added that, so far, Yasser Abu Shabab’s men have been unable to broaden this initiative into a governing structure. To date, around 400 Gazans have joined their ranks, operating mainly in Rafah’s buffer zone but unable to function significantly outside that area.
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