Leaders of anti-Hamas militias operating in areas under Israeli control in the Gaza Strip have said they oppose any involvement of Qatari or Turkish forces in postwar Gaza, according to a Saturday report.

Hussam al-Astal, the leader of a militia in the Khan Younis area, charged that Turkey “supports Hamas and protects Hamas,” and said he considers both Turkey and Qatar to be “war criminals,” Channel 12 reported.

He added, however, that “anyone who helps us against Hamas will be welcomed.”

US-led discussions continue over the makeup of a planned International Stabilization Force meant, under the terms of the recent ceasefire, to oversee security in the territory after an IDF withdrawal.

Turkey has openly expressed an interest in being part of the stabilization force, while US President Donald Trump has said that Qatar could also be involved.

“Hamas brought destruction upon Israel and upon the Gaza Strip,” al-Astal told Channel 12. “During the war, when a gunman hid among the tents, Israel would kill him, and then people would say that Israel murdered children.

“The one responsible for the deaths of women and children in Gaza is Hamas, not Israel,” he asserted.

Rasan al-Dahini, a senior figure in Yasser Abu Shabab’s militia in Rafah, similarly charged that “Turkey is not working for peace; they openly and explicitly support Hamas.”

Under the terms of the ceasefire, some areas where anti-Hamas armed clans operate have remained under Israeli control as the IDF pulled back from regions it took over during the war.

Responding........

© The Times of Israel