Israel Uses Militias to Fragment Gaza Amid Humanitarian Collapse

The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict has expanded beyond military engagements to include a strategic battle over international law, with Hamas leveraging legal bodies like the ICC and ICJ to delegitimize Israel and halt its military operations in Gaza, while gaining international sympathy. Meanwhile, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese condemned Israel's relentless military actions in Gaza, describing widespread civilian casualties and the destruction of the area. Concurrently, Gaza is experiencing engineered social collapse, with Israel reportedly supporting criminal militias such as the Popular Forces led by Yasser Abu Shabab, who operates as an Israeli-backed proxy in the southern Gaza Strip. This militia, accused of undermining Hamas governance, controls aid distribution through the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and is implicated in violent clashes with Hamas, sometimes receiving direct Israeli military support. The rise of these groups is seen as part of a broader Israeli strategy to fragment Gaza's authority and replace it with warlordism, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis amid ongoing conflict. These developments reveal a complex and multi-layered conflict involving military, legal, and social dimensions that continue to destabilize Gaza.