Hussam al-Astal, a former member of the Palestinian Authority’s security agency, announced the formation of an armed group that operated against Hamas in Gaza’s Khan Younis.
He called on the residents of Khan Younis to move to areas under his control where they can find food, water and shelter.
He told The Times of Israel that his group will take in “whoever lives under Hamas’s oppression,” and that there is enough food, water and shelter for all.
“In the coming days, we will bring in another 300-400 people,” he added, revealing that the group carries out security screenings to make sure those joining have no ties to Hamas.
Al-Astal’s group has established itself around the village of Kizan al-Najjar, just south of Khan Younis, which was emptied of its residents during the war. The location is about a kilometer from al-Mawasi, where Israel has directed Palestinians displaced from Gaza City, reported the outlet.
“I am responsible for the (new) humanitarian zone in Khan Younis,” he explained, comparing his efforts to those of Yasser Abu Shabab, whose armed gang has set up security structures and civilian infrastructure as an alternative to Hamas rule in Israeli-controlled parts of Rafah in recent months.
Al-Astal said he was in contact with Shahab, but that he was working independently of him.
He told the daily that he had worked for several years in Israel before joining the PA’s security forces when it was still in control of Gaza.
Moreover, he revealed that his group was coordinating with Israel, saying soon “we will rely on Israel to bring us electricity and water.”
Al-Astal said his group has weapons to defend themselves and that they received funding from multiple sources, including the US, Europe, and unspecified Arab states.
“People here don’t want Hamas, they want peace with Israel,” he stressed. “I’m 50 years old; I remember when the army and Israel were in Gaza, and we lived in peace,” he reflected. “Children played, children went to school, and there were no problems. But today, Hamas’s terror has destroyed Gaza and its people.”
Al-Astal was held by the Hamas government security agency for years. He was lured into Gaza through one of his brothers who worked for the agency.
He was investigated for cooperating with Israel, Palestinian sources inside Hamas told Asharq Al-Awsat.
The probe accused him of the assassination of a Hamas engineer, Fadi al-Batsh, in Malaysia in 2018. He was sentenced to death by the Hamas-affiliated permanent military court in Gaza in 2022.
The sources said al-Astal is involved in facilitating the entry of suspicious vehicles from Israel to Gaza to assist collaborators with Israel’s Shabak agency.
Al-Astal escaped from jail in Gaza after the eruption of the Gaza war in October 2023. He tried to flee towards Israel but with the emergence of Abu Shahab’s group, he joined it to fight against Hamas. He later formed his own group along with other gunmen, some of whom are accused of collaborating with Israel or were held in Hamas jails.
