Issam Nabahin
Issam Nabahin (عصام النباهين) was born in the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza in c. 1992. He joined Jaysh al-Islam, a Salafi-jihadi group based in Gaza that is affiliated with the Islamic State group, and also reportedly fought with ISIS in the Sinai peninsula against the Egyptian military. Upon his return to Gaza, he was recorded firing rockets at Israel, before killing a Gazan policeman while resisting arrest in June 2023. Hamas sentenced him to death, but he escaped prison after 7 October 2023.
Nabihin then joined the Popular Forces, an armed group and criminal network led at the time by Yasser Abu Shabab and supported by Israel. He is considered one of the group’s deputies.