Aknaf Bait al-Maqdis

Following the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War, several Syrian members of Hamas joined the rebellion against the Syrian government, and formed Aknaf Beit al-Maqdis.[10] The militia was only loosely affiliated to the Syrian opposition,[11] however, as its true allegiance remained with Hamas.[12][13] Hamas officially denied any links with Aknaf Beit al-Maqdis.[14] The group was primarily active in the Yarmouk Camp of Damascus, which it defended alongside other insurgents from government attacks from 2013.[4] It also had branches in Quneitra[15] and the Daraa Governorate. The Aknaf Bait al-Maqdis' Daraa group took part in a rebel offensive in September 2013 which aimed at capturing the Daraa border crossing.[16]

Aknaf Bait al-Maqdis battled the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, backed by al-Nusra Front, in April 2015 and lost 90% of its territory in Yarmouk Camp.[12][13][17] As result, Aknaf Beit al-Maqdis disintegrated, as many of its fighters defected to the Syrian government, the al-Nusra Front, and ISIL. In order to save the remainder of the militia (by then reduced to 160 fighters), Hamas leader Khaled Mashal reportedly contacted leading members of the PFLP-GC, Hezbollah, and the Amal Movement to guarantee the safety of Aknaf Beit al-Maqdis' members. The group's Yarmouk branch consequently joined the Syrian government forces,[18] and one of its commanders declared the entire militia dissolved.[4] Local pro-government troops continued to regard the ex-Aknaf Beit al-Maqdis fighters with suspicion.[18]

Despite the events of April 2015, at least one part of the militia remained active in Yarmouk Camp and allied with the Syrian rebels. This faction rejected offers of reconciliation by the government in January 2017,[19] though it, along with Jaysh al-Islam and Jaysh al-Ababil, signed a ceasefire agreement with government forces in October 2017.[20]

After most rebel factions in southern Damascus, including Aknaf Bait al-Maqdis, rejected offers to be transported to insurgent-held areas in northern Syria,[21] the government launched an offensive from April 2018, aiming to retake all of southern Damascus. Amid this offensive, Aknaf Bait al-Maqdis clashed with Palestinian pro-government militias in Yarmouk Camp.[10] Hard-pressed and without hopes of victory, the insurgents yielded in May, and agreed to surrender and be relocate to northern Syria. The pro-rebel Aknaf Bait al-Maqdis militants and their families were among the first group of surrendered insurgents to be transported to the north.[22]

• List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War