ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Hamas said on Friday the killing of Yasser Abu Shabab, whom the group described as a “traitor” and “collaborator with the [Israeli] occupation,” represents what it called the natural consequence for anyone who works with Israel against the Palestinian people.

Israeli Army Radio reported Thursday that Abu Shabab has been killed, with initial Israeli assessments suggesting he may have been eliminated due to an internal dispute.

The late militant leader commanded an armed anti-Hamas group known as the Popular Forces in the Gaza Strip's Rafah, facing widespread accusations of the looting of aid trucks destined for Palestinians facing famine.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in June admitted that Israel is supporting an armed group in Gaza that opposes Hamas, saying "it is only good, it is saving lives of Israeli soldiers."

In a statement, Hamas said Abu Shabab’s actions “were a blatant departure from national and social norms,” accusing him and what it called “his gang” of committing criminal acts against Palestinians. “The fate he met is the inevitable fate of anyone who betrays his people and homeland,” the group said.

The group also accused Israel of using “morally and socially degraded gangs” to pursue what it described as “illusory projects” inside Gaza. Hamas said such efforts reflect “the state of failure the occupation has reached in the face of the heroic steadfastness of our people and their resistance.”

“An occupation that failed to protect its collaborators will not be able to protect any of its agents,” the statement continued, warning that anyone who undermines Palestinian security “will end up in the trash heap of history, losing all respect and standing in their own community.”

Hamas concluded by saying that the unity of Palestinian families, tribes, and institutions remains “the safeguard against any attempt to damage the internal fabric of our society” and stressed that Gaza “will not be a shelter for criminal gangs or suspicious schemes, regardless of who stands behind them.”

The Popular Forces and Hamas repeatedly clashed following the imposition of a ceasefire between the latter and Israel in October.