Israeli-Backed Militia Launches Deadly Attack on Gaza Refugee Camp Under Cover of Airstrikes
“We were shocked when [they] entered the neighborhood and began firing at people’s homes and at the children inside those homes.”
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Story by Mohammed Ahmed, Jawa Ahmad, and Sharif Abdel Kouddous
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza—The dead and wounded were brought to Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah by car, truck, ambulance, and motorized rickshaw following a brutal attack by an Israeli-backed Palestinian militia supported by airstrikes on Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza on Monday.
Inside the hospital morgue, young men wept openly as they gathered around the lifeless bodies of their relatives lying on blankets on the floor. “Don’t leave me brother,” one man screamed as he put his head on the chest of his dead relative before grabbing his limp hand and putting it to his lips in grief. At least 10 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in the assault, according to the WAFA news agency.
The attack began when members of an Israeli-backed militia raided the eastern part of Al-Maghazi refugee camp, multiple eyewitnesses told Drop Site News. The area was just 50 meters from the “yellow line,” where Israeli troops withdrew after the October “ceasefire” agreement, effectively cleaving the Gaza Strip in half.
“We were shocked when Abu Nasira’s forces—or the militia—entered the neighborhood and began firing at people’s homes and at the children inside those homes,” Ahmed Al-Maghari, a resident who witnessed the attacks, said in reference to an Israeli-backed militia. “Some residents of the neighborhood were forced to go out and defend the area and their community, so they began firing back at the militias that were there,” he said, adding that the area was then targeted by Israeli aircraft with multiple airstrikes.
“There were three or four injured people just three to four meters away from our homes, and we were unable to reach them because of the direct gunfire from the militia,” Al-Maghari said. “Whenever anyone tried to approach to provide aid to the injured, they were immediately targeted by the aircraft.”
The dead and wounded from an attack on Al-Maghazi refugee camp are brought to Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah on April 6, 2026. Video by Mohammed Ahmed.
Another eyewitness, Mahmoud Kassab, whose friend was killed, described a similar scene. “They shot at us near the entrance of Al-Maghazi camp,” Kassab said. “The young men confronted them and clashes broke out. Then the drones came and provided cover for them with missiles, and the quadcopter drones started dropping explosives on us.” He added, “Anyone who tries to move gets targeted.”
The Abu Nasira militia, led by former Palestinian Authority security officer Shawqi Abu Nasira, operates east of the “yellow line,” in territory under Israeli military control. The group formed in November as an offshoot of the Abu Shabab militia that became notorious for looting aid convoys and whose eponymous leader was killed in December. In a television interview on Israel’s Channel 14 in December, Abu Nasira said, “The relationship between us and the Israelis is a strong relationship and an intimate friendship, and we will live with them for the rest of our lives in security and peace….They provide us with weapons, food, and clothing, and we coordinate with them on security to the fullest extent.”
Although relatively new, the Abu Nasira militia has reportedly already begun to fracture, with two of its commanders killed this week in an internal dispute over some members’ refusal to undergo training courses and work directly with Israel’s intelligence service, according to a post by Mujamma Haraket, a prominent Palestinian analyst.
The group, which calls itself the “Free Homeland Forces,” proudly took credit for Monday’s attack, posting a video soon afterwards with around two dozen of its members outfitted with helmets and full military gear. “Today, we pursued the herd of pigs of Hamas in Al-Maghazi camp,” Shawqi Abu Nasira said in the video. “The operation was carried out successfully, some items were seized, and around five of the pigs were killed. We will continue on this path until victory, and until the people are liberated and able to return to their homes and lands in full safety and security.”
Hamas did not comment on the attack, though Radea, a local security force affiliated with Hamas, said in a statement: “Residents confronted an attempt by collaborator militias to surround and search homes near the ‘Yellow Line’ east of Al-Maghazi camp, abduct those inside, and confiscate their belongings, with Zionist aerial support. After failing to storm the homes due to confrontation from the families, members of the collaborator militias opened fire on citizens, and occupation aircraft intervened, bombing the area of the confrontation, resulting in a number of martyrs. Accountability is coming, and the blood of the innocent who faced the collaborators with their bare chests will be a curse that haunts the occupation and its agents.”
The attack was just the latest in the seemingly routine killings of Palestinians in Gaza that has continued on a near daily basis for the past six months despite Israel signing a ceasefire agreement with Hamas in October. Since then, over 730 Palestinians have been killed and over 2,000 wounded. The toll since the beginning of the genocide in October 2023 has now topped 72,300. As the world’s attention has shifted to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and Israel’s invasion and bombardment of Lebanon, the daily violence in Gaza has continued without pause.
In addition to the frequent shooting, shelling, and airstrikes by Israeli forces, Palestinians crammed into less than half of Gaza’s territory have also come under assault by Israeli-backed groups like the Abu Nasira militia. On Tuesday, the group issued a warning to displaced Palestinians in Gaza, saying, “The presence of armed elements among civilians puts your lives and the lives of your families at great risk. Using camps as shelter or cover for any armed activity makes these areas direct targets and threatens everyone’s safety.”
Outside the Al-Aqsa hospital on Monday, a group of men marched carrying the body of one of those killed on their shoulders as they called out for justice. Nearby, Ataf Al-Ghoulah, an eyewitness to the attack, was distraught. “All of a sudden, the militia men came in and started gathering those young men and shooting at them,” she told Drop Site. “These people you see, I swear, they don’t even have a piece of bread to eat.”
MJ Frankel edited the video for this report.
What a horrible bunch of bastards the Israelis under netanyahoo have turned out to be. They have become the 21st century natzis.
Iran is winning and the Israelis are in shock. Iran has never attacked anyone, but they have a right to self defense when attacked. The Israelis are barbarians who think they can genocide all people the racist jews want to kill. Now, however, they are getting their comeuppance from the marvelous Iranians who saw this war coming since 1979 when the odious Shah was taken down. They've been ready for 47 years and are winning the war that the US and Israel illegally began, by targeting a school full of little kids. That wasn't a mistake, but deliberate evil. Iran: the rest of the world is on your side.