WATCH | New footage exposes Israel’s secret support for Gaza Militias as Hamas fights to regain control

Footage verified by Sky News shows a convoy of trucks loaded with supplies such as water bottles, jerry-cans, and fuel moving from about 1.4 km inside the Israel-controlled area near the Erez Border Crossing towards a militia headquarters, led by Ashraf Al-Mansi, which describes itself as the ‘People’s Army'. The route originates around 400 m close to an IDF outpost. Almost every establishment has been razed to the ground, and very few people remain in that part of Gaza; and no aid has come through the crossing since February.

Sky News reports could not verify the exact content of the package, but the report confirmed the presence of food, water bottles and a large amount of fuel branded with SOS Energy, an Israeli fuel supplier.

Active militias in Israel controlled Gaza

People's Army is one of the four active militia groups active in Gaza, is all inside Israel-controlled territory. The other three militia groups are Doghmosh Clan, Counter-Terrorism Strike Force (CSF), and People's Forces, headed by Rami Halas, Hossam Al Astal and Yasser Abu Shabab. This underlines the fragmentation in Gaza and that Israel sponsors it. Till now, the Gaza Strip had been seen as monolithic, completely under the control of Hamas. Last week, an investigative report by Sky News showed that there had been a supply of weapons, vehicles, money and food to the most influential of these three militias, Yasser Abu Shabab's People's Forces.

Earlier on Thursday, Hamas have cracked down on the Doghmosh Clan, a family known for its anti-Hamas stance. In a long, drawn-out confrontation, Hamas sought revenge against the family as a whole.

"These rogue groups terrified us more than the enemy at times, violating people's sanctities and property, stripping them of cash, phones, even watches, and shooting legs," said Gaza's Supreme Council for Tribal Affairs Hosni Al Mughanni. Yasser Abu Shabab "deserves the harshest punishment for his crimes". He said that Hamas is "restoring security, security is the basis of life."

This depicts a classic plot to create a scenario of warlordism with multiple power centres, Hamas vs rival militias. Hamas have already started to crack down on the militia groups with gun battles and public executions. IDF have reported that Hamas has seized 45 pickup trucks, cash and hundreds of weapons from these Israel-backed Militias. For people in Gaza, this means more terror and looting. At the same time, it complicates post-war governance, and Israel gets to portray the situation as unstable.