On Monday, April 20, a convoy of vehicles rolled through Khan Younis in southern Gaza, carrying armed, masked men. They belonged to an Israeli-backed militia that typically operates in the part of Gaza that falls under Israeli military control, east of the so-called "Yellow Line" that cuts Gaza roughly in half. Their appearance in the part of Khan Younis under Hamas control was a direct provocation. 

In a widely-circulated video on social media, one of the gunmen stepped out and addressed the crowd. "Hamas is over. We are the people, and the people are us; we will protect you from Hamas terrorism."

The incursion did not go unanswered. Hamas security forces appeared and fired shells and heavy gunfire at the vehicles as intense clashes broke out, according to videos circulated on social media. A Hamas-affiliated Telegram channel called Radea, which emerged in 2025 to track and pursue collaborators, described the response to the incursion as an ambush. 

"When the right moment came, Radea fighters opened fire on the collaborators' vehicles, directly striking the first vehicle and then targeting the second and third, leaving them dead and wounded, while the others fled under the cover of enemy aircraft," the channel stated. "Israel will not protect you. Our fighters are lying in wait for you."

The incursion came one day after Ghassan al-Duheini, head of the Israeli-armed "Popular Forces" group, announced on his Facebook page the launching of what he called Operation Deter the Aggressors. The Popular Forces were previously led by gang leader and Israeli collaborator Yasser Abu Shabab before he was reportedly killed by his own associates last December. Hamas government officials previously told Mondoweiss that the group is the largest, best-equipped, and most dangerous militia operating in Gaza.

Today, most of these groups operate in the eastern sectors of Gaza that fall under Israeli military control. These include al-Duheini's Popular Forces in Rafah and Khan Younis, Hussam al-Astal's "Anti-Terror Strike Force," and the so-called "Popular Defense Forces" led by Rami Hilles in Gaza City's Shuja'iyya neighborhood. Hilles and Astal are reportedly both former employees of the Palestinian Authority's security forces.

The existence of these groups is part of a broader Israeli strategy that Gaza security officers say they've been confronting since the beginning of the war: the systematic targeting of police and security personnel to create a vacuum that the militias can fill. 

Mondoweiss spoke with several Hamas security leaders and police officers in Gaza about how they are facing the latest stage in the ongoing Israeli campaign to target their personnel, foment chaos, and strengthen the position of the militias.