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Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Politics

Netanyahu admits Israel backing ‘criminal’ groups, rivals of Hamas, in Gaza

A man carries a girl as Palestinians evacuate wounded people from the site of an Israeli air strike in Gaza City, on June 5, 2025 [Khamis Al-Rifi/Reuters]

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the country is using armed gangs in Gaza to help fight Hamas, his admission coming after a new wave of military strikes on the besieged Gaza Strip that left at least 52 Palestinians dead.

Netanyahu said the government had “activated” powerful local clans in the enclave on the advice of “security officials”, his video statement posted to X on Thursday coming hours after former Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman accused him of deploying the tactic.

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