Yasser Abu Shabab
Yasser Abu Shabab | |
|---|---|
| ياسر أبو شباب | |
Abu Shabab c. 2025 | |
| Leader of the Popular Forces | |
| In office 6 May 2024 – 4 December 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Ghassan Duhine |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 February 1990 or 19 December 1993 |
| Died | 4 December 2025 (aged 31 or 35) Beersheba, Israel |
| Manner of death | Gunshot wounds |
| Spouse | Amna Abu Shabab |
| Relations | Hassan Abu Shabab Fathi Abu Shabab |
| Known for | Armed opposition to Hamas |
| Website | Yasser Abu Shabab - Popular Forces |
| Nickname | Pablo Escobar of Gaza |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Popular Forces administration |
| Years of service | 2024–2025 |
| Wars/conflicts fought/participated in | |
| Criminal information | |
| Criminal status | Deceased |
| Criminal charge | Drug trafficking and theft (2015) Treason, insurrection, wartime collaboration, organized crime (2025, in absentia) |
| Penalty | 25 years' imprisonment (2015) |
Wanted by | Hamas Government of the Gaza Strip |
| Escaped | October 2023 |
Date apprehended | 2015 |
Yasser Jihad Mansour Abu Shabab (27 February 1990 or 19 December 1993 – 4 December 2025) also known as the "Pablo Escobar of Gaza" was a Palestinian militant who was the founding leader of the Popular Forces, an anti-Hamas armed group in the Gaza Strip. He was a Bedouin of the Tarabin tribe.
Abu Shabab emerged as a local opposition figure to Hamas during the Gaza war. In May 2024, his group began looting aid trucks, claiming he was providing security for humanitarian aid convoys entering Gaza during the Rafah offensive. Abu Shabab was reportedly behind the Kerem Shalom aid convoy looting. Israel began providing Abu Shabab's group with weapons and equipment in 2025. Since June 2025, the group he led has control over some parts of eastern Rafah. Following Yasser Abu Shabab's death, Ghassan Duhine proclaimed himself the new leader of the Popular Forces.