The director of police investigation for Khan Younis, Gaza, has been assassinated by a Palestinian militia, aligned with Israel, according to the Gaza-based ministry of interior and national security.

Close-range assassination

Witnesses reported that the late 40-year-old lieutenant colonel, Mahmoud al-Astal, was shot at close range by gunmen in a passing vehicle.

Abu Safan, the leader of the suspected Palestinian militia, claimed responsibility for the killing in a recorded video circulated online. The militia commander (whose real name is Hossam al-Astal) is a former Palestinian Authority police officer.

Abu Safan is viewed by Hamas officials as an Israeli collaborator and agent, who also contend that the assassination was carried out under directives from Israel’s internal security service, Shin Beit, in the area of al-Mawasi.

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Israel-backed Palestinian militia pursue Hamas

The Palestinian militia who claimed responsibility said the incident happened outside of the designated yellow line, in reference to areas captured by and under the control of Israeli occupying forces.

Abu Safan, in statement published by telegram-basedFajer News, issued a stern warning to other Hamas officials:

We will reach you inside your tents, inside your homes- we carried out the operation in the heart of al-Mawasi, and we are not afraid of Hamas.

Meanwhile, an infographic shared by Sky News maps out Gaza-based militia collaborating with Israeli forces. As Skawkbox reported in December last year, Abu Shabab, an ISIS-aligned collaborator, was killed in Rafah, Southern Gaza.

Settling political scores

Gaza’s ministry of interior condemned the crime and released a statement underlining the politically-charged, score settling nature of these attacks:

They are a continuation of the occupation’s role in targeting leaders and members of the security and police services following the genocidal war […] an attempt to spread chaos and obstruct the significant efforts carried out by the security and police services to maintain public safety and support citizens.

It added that its staff would not be deterred from carrying out their work.

Since October 2023, Israel and its militia allies have been systematically targeting prominent Hamas employed security and police personnel.

The Israeli occupation has killed more than 2,700 personnel attached to the ministry of interior — that’s 15 percent of their overall workforce.

In July 2024, Euro-Med Monitor documented 700 targeted killings of police staff since 2023. Ramy Abdu, the organisation’s chairman, told TRT World:

The targeting of civil police officers clearly aims to destabilise the community and create chaos, preventing citizens from accessing basic necessities, and thereby subjecting civilians to disorder to achieve political objectives…Targeting civil police officers, who are not involved in any armed faction activities, is prohibited under international law as they are civilians providing civil services and not engaged in military combat.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, Israel has killed a total of 71,419 Palestinians and injured 171,318 as of 12 January 2026. Since the so called ceasefire, 442 Palestinians have been slain. Israel’ has violated it more than 1190 times, according to the Gaza Government Media Office, since its implementation.

Political score-settling by anti-Hamas militias will intensify in months to come, fuelling more bloodshed. Backed by Israel, these groups exploit Palestinian divisions to further its’ master’s settler-colonial agenda. However, the only true victor, in this context, is Israel.

Featured image via the Canary

By Charlie Jaay

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