In Daylight Raid Backed by Drones, Israel Seizes Senior Hamas Militant

Gaza City residents had just spotted the drones buzzing overhead when a rapid series of explosions and smoke sent them scrambling for shelter.

Under the cover of air-force fire, special forces from Israel’s Shin Bet security service descended on the Al-Katiba neighborhood Tuesday and nabbed a senior Hamas official near his home in broad daylight, Israeli and Hamas officials said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the official, identified by Hamas as Moein Al-Arabid, was the head of the militant group’s internal security service and was helping it re-establish its dominance after years of bruising war.

The Israeli operatives loaded Al-Arabid wounded but alive into a van that sped him across the border into Israel for interrogation.

The brazen operation was the latest move by Israel to test the limits of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza that is already under strain. It was also a daring demonstration of Israel’s ability to reach deep inside the enclave to hunt down and capture its enemies alive, which analysts saw as a chilling message to Hamas.

Nearly a year after a ceasefire under the Gaza peace plan brokered by President Trump took effect, Israel continues to carry out near-daily strikes in the enclave, often targeting militants who participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that sparked three years of war. Gaza health authorities say more than 1,300 people have been killed since the ceasefire, without saying how many were combatants.

Netanyahu rejected a plan by the Board of Peace, a group set up by Trump to oversee the ceasefire, to disarm the militant group. Trump said last month that Israel needs to dial back the attacks to give his plan a chance, but his envoys and the Board of Peace also have said Israel can defend itself and attack if Hamas tries to rearm—a mixed message that gives Israel some leeway to carry out operations.

“My directive is clear: the State of Israel will continue to pursue all Hamas leaders and everyone who took part in the October 7 massacre,” Netanyahu said late Tuesday.

Witnesses described a chaotic episode that lasted under 30 minutes. They first heard drones, then an almost immediate flurry of thunderous booms and thick clouds of smoke.

Lina Abu Hein, 24 years old and five months pregnant, said she lives upstairs from where the abduction took place and ran down to her neighbor’s apartment when she heard a burst of gunfire.

“I saw thick smoke and smelled a strong odor of gunpowder,” she said. “Everyone ran and took cover.”

Gaza health authorities said at least two children were killed and six people were injured. The Hamas-controlled Gaza Interior Ministry said Israel killed Al-Arabid’s wife and injured several of his children.

Israel’s military said none of its forces were injured during the mission deep inside Hamas-controlled territory.

Security analysts said Al-Arabid’s capture is a major blow for Hamas. The group’s leadership in Gaza has been successively struck down by Israel, making it harder to function and fill senior roles. The nature of his job also meant he would likely have valuable intelligence.

As chief of internal security, Al-Arabid would have detailed knowledge about protection protocols for Hamas leaders, said Michael Milshtein, a former senior Israeli military intelligence officer. He would also know who Hamas suspected of being enemy informants, and how they were being pursued, he said.

“I think they would prefer that he be killed by Israel, because Israel will get the secrets out of him,” Milshtein said. “And this is a man who knows a lot of secrets.”