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From the Liveblog of
Monday, November 3, 2025
From the Liveblog of
Monday, November 3, 2025
Militia leader in Gaza backed by Israel films himself burning Hamas flag
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleNurit Yohanan is The Times of Israel's Palestinian and Arab world correspondent
Hossam al-Astal, a militia leader in the Khan Younis area of Gaza supported by Israel, filmed himself in a live video on Facebook burning a Hamas flag.
In the video, al-Astal is seen denying reports that Hamas arrested militia members and confiscated their weapons.
He calls Hamas “liars,” adds that “Hamas is finished,” and then sets a Hamas flag on fire.
The militia led by al-Astal is positioned right along the “Yellow Line” to which IDF troops withdrew at the start of the ceasefire, near Israeli forces.
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