From the Liveblog of
Monday, April 20, 2026
Hamas clashes with Israel-backed militia; commander says one fighter killed by RPG
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleNurit Yohanan is The Times of Israel's Palestinian and Arab world correspondent
Palestinian media outlets in Gaza affiliated with Hamas have published footage showing armed men firing in Khan Younis, claiming they are Hamas operatives targeting militias backed by Israel.
Hussam al-Astal, the leader of a militia in the Khan Younis area established last year and supported by Israel, tells The Times of Israel that Hamas operatives opened fire on around 20 of his fighters as they were finishing distributing food to civilians in central Khan Younis.
“We were there for three hours — Hamas wasn’t there. As we were leaving, they hid among the people, opened fire, and launched an RPG at us,” al-Astal says.
According to him, one militia member was killed in the attack, and two others were lightly wounded. He adds that while the fighters were armed, they did not return fire in order to avoid harming Gazan civilians who were present at the scene. After the shooting, they left the scene.
كمين للمقاومة يستهدف ميليشيا متعاونة في خان يونس
تقدمت مجموعة من ميليشيات متعاونة مع الاحتلال صباح اليوم نحو منطقة قريبة من "الخط الأصفر" في خان يونس، حيث تجمع عدد من الأهالي ووقعت مناوشات محدودة.
وخلال انسحابها باتجاه "المنطقة الصفراء"، نفذت المقاومة كميناً محكماً استهدفها، ما… pic.twitter.com/mAT3Hh49PP— غزة 24 | التغطية مستمرة (@Gaza24Live) April 20, 2026
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