A handful of members of an Israeli-backed anti-Hamas gang in Gaza have surrendered to the militant group, days after their leader was killed in the strip.
The leader of the so-called Popular Forces in Gaza, Yasser Abu Shabab, was killed on Thursday by the Palestinian resistance, a term regularly used to describe organisations such as Hamas, according to a Hamas-linked Telegram channel.
The group, which was being supported by Israeli authorities in an attempt to undermine Hamas's control in the war-ravaged territory, said he was shot while mediating an internal clash.
Hamas said he was targeted because he was an Israeli collaborator, and issued a deadline of a week and a half for other members of groups such as Abu Shabab's gang to surrender or face a similar fate.
Statements circulating on Hamas-linked social media accounts said eight fighters had now handed themselves over. Israeli media outlets reported similar figures.
"The surrender process was voluntary, following direct communication from some families and with clear support from the clans, which lifted the social cover from those involved," a statement attributed to a Hamas security source said.
"The repentance period remains open to the rest of the wanted individuals."
Reprisals against anti-Hamas militia had been feared and flagged by some within the Israeli security establishment, when it first became apparent that Israeli authorities were supporting anti-Hamas militia groups on the ground in Gaza.
The ABC asked the Israeli prime minister's office for comment on the surrendering of the fighters, but it refused to provide a specific response.
It would only comment on the broader issue of dissent against Hamas.
"Hamas's reign of terror was not only directed against Israel but also against its own people," an official said.
"There is no shortage of Palestinians wishing and actively fighting to free themselves of the Hamas repression and tyranny.
"The day after Hamas is a day of emancipation for the Palestinians, one in which they will finally rid themselves of the Hamas boot on their necks".
Group still active
Abu Shabab's gang operated inside an area near the former city of Rafah, under Israeli control.
Israeli authorities never explicitly confirmed support for the group, but said they were backing an unspecified number of militia in Gaza.
"On the advice of security officials, we activated clans in Gaza that oppose Hamas," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video posted on social media in June.
"What's wrong with that?"
Abu Shabab has already been replaced as leader of the Popular Forces by his second-in-command, Ghassan Al-Duhine. The organisation posted a video from Arab media outlet Jusoor news on its Facebook page showing him inspecting the group's "counter terrorism" forces.
The slain militia leader's wife also posted on social media, saying her husband "did not carry a weapon to assault but to prevent assault".
The Popular Forces said he "left behind a force of an organisation capable of continuing the national march, confirming that this path will not stop with his martyrdom".
"[Abu Shabab's wife] stressed that this force will remain in performing its duties to protect the national project and to confront the appearances of chaos and extremism, until the goals of the people are achieved, fulfilling the blood of the martyrs and continuing the path they have walked," it said in a statement.
