The anti-Hamas Popular Forces militia captured Adham al Akar, aka “Abu Bakr,” a Hamas company commander in Rafah. Akar was among the Hamas fighters who have been trapped in Israeli-controlled territory following the beginning of the Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas last October.
On January 31, the Popular Forces published a video on its Facebook page of its leader, Ghassan al Duhaini, with Akar, who was wearing only his undergarments. In the short clip, Duhaini did not detail how the group captured Akar but threatened that Hamas would be treated like the victims of the Spanish Inquisition.
Hours after the Popular Forces’ announcement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had captured “a key Hamas commander from the East Rafah Battalion” following a search by troops for terrorists who had exited a tunnel shaft overnight in eastern Rafah. The statements from the Popular Forces and the IDF are linked. Kan News, Israel’s public broadcaster, reported that Duhaini’s group had arrested Akar and subsequently transferred him to the IDF’s custody.
The Popular Forces’ capture of Akar adds to increasing evidence that militias are carrying out offensive military operations against Hamas. On January 12, Hussam al Astal, the leader of the Counterterrorism Strike Force based out of Khan Younis, claimed responsibility for killing Lieutenant Colonel Mahmoud al Astal, the director of police investigations in Khan Younis and a senior Hamas member. Weeks earlier, the Counterterrorism Strike Force announced that it was responsible for killing two Hamas members and arresting a third in the Abu al Saber area of the Shaboura Camp in Rafah during an operation.
While militias have recently demonstrated effectiveness against Hamas, significant strategic problems may lie ahead for them. Israel and Hamas are entering the second phase of the US-brokered ceasefire deal following the IDF’s recovery of the remains of Ran Gvili, who was the last remaining hostage in Gaza. According to the ceasefire plan, the IDF will gradually withdraw from its current positions in the territory during each phase of the three-part deal. Further Israeli pullbacks from Gaza will put the anti-Hamas militias, which currently operate in IDF-controlled territory, at a disadvantage. The situation will allow Hamas and its allies the freedom to operate in territory where they were previously restricted by the ceasefire agreement and the presence of the IDF.
Hamas has not officially published a statement on Akar’s capture. However, Palestinian media outlets reported that the National Gathering of Palestinian Tribes, Clans, and Families in Gaza—an organization that represents these groups in the enclave — condemned the Popular Forces, saying that Akar’s capture was a “barbaric criminal act” that contradicts “Palestinian social norms.”
