Misbar Reveals Israeli License Plate as Evidence of Abu Shabab Militia Ties to Israel

The relationship between the Abu Shabab militia in the Gaza Strip and Israel has long been a subject of debate, which resurfaces whenever potential links between the two emerge. Recently, Reuters reported that Palestinians returning to Gaza via the Rafah crossing said they had undergone Israeli interrogations conducted in the presence of, or under the supervision of, Abu Shabab militia members. The revelations have raised sensitive questions about the group’s role and its ties to Israeli forces.

Amid the growing debate over the armed group’s connections with Israel, Misbar’s team recently identified an SUV in footage published by militia members carrying an Israeli license plate, just days before Palestinians entered the Gaza Strip. This development—tracked by Misbar’s team in this report—adds to a series of indicators suggesting coordination between the Abu Shabab militia and Israeli forces, a hypothesis previously explored by Al Araby Television in an in-depth investigation titled “Abu Shabab: The Shadow of the Occupation.”

Israeli-Plated Vehicle Tied to Abu Shabab Militia

The vehicle under scrutiny appeared in a video posted on a Facebook account named “Nader Al-Wasf Al-Qibli” on January 29. A review of the account shows that it frequently promotes the Abu Shabab militia, with multiple photos and videos featuring the account owner alongside Ghassan Al-Duhaini, reportedly the militia’s current leader.

The footage shows several armed men in an open area, accompanied by two SUVs—one black and one gray—and a white refrigerated truck in the background. Notably, one of the SUVs bears an Israeli license plate, a striking visual detail within the video.

Vehicle Identification and Location

Reverse image research on the vehicle under investigation identified it as a Toyota Hilux, a four-door, four-wheel-drive pickup. Armed groups commonly use this model for its off-road capabilities and its ability to transport personnel and equipment.

A vehicle of the same model and color had appeared in a video posted by the same account on January 9, though it lacked a license plate at the time, consistent with the usual pattern for militia vehicles in circulating footage.

Meanwhile, analysis of accounts linked to militia members, aimed at identifying distinctive visual markers and pinpointing filming locations, showed that the footage featuring the vehicle under investigation was recorded in front of a building in Rafah used by the Abu Shabab militia as an operations center.

By comparing prominent geographic features in the video with satellite imagery and Google Maps, Misbar’s team confirmed that the vehicle was present at the coordinates shown in the image below.

Tracking Abu Shabab Militia Vehicle Plate

Israeli civilian license plates are typically rectangular with a reflective yellow background and black registration numbers, usually consisting of seven or eight digits separated by hyphens. Beneath the first hyphen, an official approval seal issued by the Standards Institution of Israel appears.

On the left side of the plate, a vertical blue strip features the Israeli flag, followed by the letters “IL,” then the word “Israel” in Hebrew (ישראל) and Arabic.

Based on these visual characteristics, Misbar’s team sought to identify the vehicle’s license plate using a video published by an account named Abu Hassan Al-Turbani on TikTok on January 26. The footage shows the same vehicle bearing an Israeli license plate, though the publisher attempted to obscure it by covering the plate with a white mark. However, through close visual inspection and the use of specialized tools, Misbar’s team was able to uncover the registration number.

After conducting a frame-by-frame visual analysis, Misbar’s team found that the plate appears with a yellow background and a blue strip on the left side and consists of eight digits. To accurately identify the numbers, the team extracted the clearest frames using video-editing tools.

Misbar’s team then applied color adjustments to the selected frames, including saturation and contrast correction and lighting enhancement, to obtain a clearer image of the plate. Based on this processing, the registration number was identified as 239-04-001. The distinctive features of Israeli license plates, including the flag and the letters “IL,” were also clearly visible.

Tracking the Vehicle’s License Plate Number

Open-source tools provided another method to trace vehicle license plates in Israel, using public databases or verification services that supply information on a vehicle’s model, year of manufacture, specifications, and in some cases its history or records of theft.

As a result, checks on the license plate displayed on the vehicle used by the militia produced a striking finding. Verification across multiple databases consistently indicated that the plate belongs to a different vehicle — a Volvo Burden — rather than the Toyota Hilux seen in the video. This suggests the plate did not originally belong to the vehicle and was likely mounted onto it.

More specifically, the findings indicate that the license plate was assigned an Israeli identity by using a number that exists, or could plausibly match, in official records, before being affixed to a mismatched vehicle. This practice, similar to methods employed by criminal gangs and outlaw groups for concealment or identity manipulation to evade checkpoints or tracking, raises serious questions about the purpose of displaying a fabricated Israeli vehicle identity.

New Indicators of Militia Ties to Israel

This finding raises several questions in the context of the investigation. Why would the militia need to mount a license plate on a vehicle operating inside the Gaza Strip? Why did they choose an Israeli-style plate specifically, and where did they obtain it—or the number used on it?

The presence of police-style emergency lights on the vehicle adds another layer of concern, suggesting a possible attempt to mimic law enforcement vehicles or create an official appearance to facilitate movement and assert control.

The footage reinforces these questions by showing a closed refrigerated truck accompanying the vehicle under investigation. Such trucks are uncommon in the Gaza Strip, and closed trucks generally undergo stricter inspections because their cargo is harder to verify visually than that of open trucks.

During the investigation, a vehicle of similar make and color was observed being used by settler protection forces in the Gaza envelope, creating a visual overlap that raises the possibility the militia was simulating an “official” appearance to facilitate movement both inside Gaza and in surrounding areas.

Taken together, these indicators suggest the vehicle may not have been operating solely within Gaza but was possibly used for a mission requiring camouflage. This would explain the fabricated Israeli license plate and the addition of emergency lights. The presence of the closed refrigerated truck, whose cargo and operator remain unclear, further supports the hypothesis that the “fabricated identity” was part of a deliberate operational pattern rather than a coincidental detail.

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