Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel has "operated clans" in Gaza in a video published on social media Thursday after an opposition leader accused him of arming Palestinian militias in order to bolster opposition to Hamas.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged only that Israel had been working with “clans.” But the opposition leader warned that the “weapons going into Gaza will eventually be pointed at Israeli soldiers and civilians.

The Israeli prime minister's comments on social media were the first public acknowledgment of Israel’s backing of armed Palestinian groups within Gaza, based around powerful families.