Hamas fighters pictured in Gaza amid reports that Israel is funding and protecting militias opposed to Hamas rule [Getty]

A militia leader operating in Gaza against Hamas authorities has said his group is funded and backed by Israel, as Tel Aviv continues efforts to tighten its control over the besieged enclave.

Speaking to Israel’s right-wing Channel 14, Shawqi Abu Nassira said his militia, known as the People’s Army Forces of the Free Homeland, receives direct support from Israel.

“They provide us with weapons, food, drink and clothing. We have security coordination at the highest level,” Abu Nassira told Channel 14 reporter Ahikam Himmelfarb, when asked about the group’s relationship with Israel.

The report included footage of Abu Nassira’s fighters operating in parts of Khan Younis within areas of Gaza under Israeli military control, east of what Israel refers to as the “Yellow Line”.

Abu Nassira previously served in the Palestinian Authority’s security services and was sentenced to five life terms after being detained by Israel in 1984.

In a 2021 interview with The New Arab’s Arabic language sister site Al Araby Al Jadeed, Abu Nassira described a failed escape attempt from Israel’s Nafha Prison in 1987.

During Israel’s war on Gaza, Abu Nassira became linked to a network associated with Yasser Abu Shabab, an Israel-backed militia leader who was killed earlier this year, as well as the mercenary Ashraf al Mansi.

Sources told The New Arab last month that Abu Nassira’s association with the network drew widespread condemnation across Gaza.

Israel’s backing of armed factions in Gaza has previously sparked controversy within Israel itself. In June 2025, several Israeli politicians accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of approving the arming of such groups without authorisation.

Netanyahu later acknowledged supplying weapons to factions in Gaza, many of which Israeli officials have linked to criminal activity, aid looting, and the Islamic State group.

Despite a ceasefire, Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Gaza and expand its area of control, which now covers more than half of the enclave.

The majority of Gaza’s population, however, remains in areas still controlled by Hamas, which has rejected demands from Israel and the United States to disarm.