Leader of Israeli-backed militia killed in Gaza: Media

By Abdel Raouf Arnaout and Betul Yilmaz

JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL (AA) – The leader of an Israeli-backed militia in the Gaza Strip was killed on Thursday, according to Israeli media.

Yasser Abu Shabab, who had worked in cooperation with the Israeli army, was killed in tribal clashes in Gaza, the public broadcaster KAN said, citing anonymous security sources.

Israeli TV channel i24 said that Abu Shabab succumbed to his injuries at Soroka Medical Center in southern Israel.

Amit Segal, an Israeli political analyst for Channel 12, called the militiaman’s death “a bad development for Israel” as “Hamas viewed him as a strategic threat to its rule.”