Waseem Abu Mahadi takes readers [1] deep into the shifting power struggle in Gaza, where Israel’s push to capture Gaza City and dismantle Hamas is colliding with new, unconventional actors. As Israeli strikes kill dozens and a humanitarian crisis worsens, clan-based militias are moving into the vacuum left by Hamas’ retreat and the Palestinian Authority’s absence.
At the center of this alternative order is Yasser Abu Shabab, whose “Popular Forces” control a Hamas-free enclave in eastern Rafah. Through Facebook broadcasts and coordinated aid deliveries, Abu Shabab presents his fighters as a community shield—evacuating civilians, securing food convoys, and offering a rare sense of safety. Supporters see them as a realistic alternative to Hamas; critics warn they’re a temporary stopgap in a territory sliding toward chaos.
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Meanwhile, a competing vision for Gaza’s future is being floated far from the Strip. Montréal-based lobbyist Ari Ben-Menashe is promoting West Bank economist Samir Hulileh to lead a technocratic administration under Arab League oversight, backed by $53 billion in Gulf and European aid. The plan—welcomed by the Trump administration but rejected by the Palestinian Authority—faces fierce opposition from parts of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet.
Abu Mahadi weaves together battlefield realities, shifting alliances, and backroom diplomacy to paint a portrait of a post-Hamas Gaza that is anything but settled. From tribal checkpoints to foreign-backed boardrooms, the struggle over who will govern the Strip could determine whether it emerges from war into order—or sinks deeper into fragmentation.
It’s a ground-level look at Gaza’s uncertain future, one that asks whether the real power brokers will be politicians, generals, or tribal leaders. Read Waseem Abu Mahadi’s full report [1] for a rare, inside view of the forces competing to shape what comes next.