Israeli Strike Kills Hungry Gaza Family in Their Sleep

Relatives mourn over the shrouded bodies of Al-Shaer family members at the Al-Shifa in Gaza City, 23 July 2025. (EPA)

16:48-23 July 2025 AD ـ 28 Muharram 1447 AH

Relatives mourn over the shrouded bodies of Al-Shaer family members at the Al-Shifa in Gaza City, 23 July 2025. (EPA)

The Al-Shaer family went to bed hungry at their home in Gaza City. An Israeli airstrike killed them in their sleep.

The family - freelance journalist Wala al-Jaabari, her husband and their five children - were among more than 100 people killed in 24 hours of Israeli strikes or gunfire, according to health officials.

Their corpses lay in white shrouds outside their bombed home on Wednesday with their names scribbled in pen. Blood seeped through the shrouds as they lay there, staining them red.

"This is my cousin. He was 10. We dug them out of the rubble," said Amr al-Shaer, holding one of the bodies after retrieving it.

Iman al-Shaer, another relative who lives nearby, said the family hadn't eaten anything before the bombs came down. "The children slept without food," he said.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike at the family's home, but said its air force had struck 120 targets throughout Gaza in the past day, including "terrorist cells, military structures, tunnels, booby-trapped structures, and additional terrorist infrastructure sites".

Relatives said some neighbors were spared only because they had been out searching for food at the time of the strike.

Ten more Palestinians died overnight from starvation, the Gaza health ministry said, bringing the total number of people who have starved to death to 111, most of them in recent weeks as a wave of hunger crashes on the Palestinian enclave.

The World Health Organization said on Wednesday 21 children under the age of five were among those who died of malnutrition so far this year. It said it had been unable to deliver any food for nearly 80 days between March and May and that a resumption of food deliveries was still far below what is needed.

In a statement on Wednesday, 111 organizations, including Mercy Corps, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Refugees International, said mass starvation was spreading even as tons of food, clean water and medical supplies sit untouched just outside Gaza, where aid groups are blocked from accessing them.

Israel, which cut off all supplies to Gaza from the start of March and reopened it with new restrictions in May, says it is committed to allowing in aid but must control it to prevent it from being diverted by fighters. It says it has let enough food into Gaza during the war and blames Hamas for the suffering of Gaza's 2.2 million people.

Israel has also accused the United Nations of failing to act in a timely fashion, saying 700 truckloads of aid are idling inside Gaza. "It is time for them to pick it up and stop blaming Israel for the bottlenecks which are occurring," Israeli government spokesman David Mercer said on Wednesday.

The United Nations and aid groups trying to deliver food to Gaza say Israel, which controls everything that comes in and out, is choking delivery, and Israeli troops have shot hundreds of Palestinians dead close to aid collection points since May.

"We have a minimum set of requirements to be able to operate inside Gaza," Ross Smith, the director of emergencies at the UN World Food Program, told Reuters. "One of the most important things I want to emphasize is that we need to have no armed actors near our distribution points, near our convoys."

FALTERING PEACE TALKS

The war between Israel and Hamas has been raging for nearly two years since Hamas killed some 1,200 Israelis and took 251 hostages from southern Israel in the deadliest attack in Israel's history.

Israel has since killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians in Gaza, decimated Hamas as a military force, reduced most of the territory to ruins and forced nearly the entire population to flee their homes multiple times.

US Middle East peace envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to hold new ceasefire talks, travelling to Europe this week for meetings on the Gaza war and a range of other issues, a US official said on Tuesday.

Talks on a proposal for a 60-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which would include the release of more of the 50 hostages still being held in Gaza, are being mediated by Qatar and Egypt with Washington's backing.

Successive rounds of negotiations have achieved no breakthrough since the collapse of a ceasefire in March.

A senior Palestinian official told Reuters Hamas might give mediators a response to the latest proposals in Doha later on Wednesday, on the condition that amendments be made to two major sticking points: details on an Israeli military withdrawal, and on how to distribute aid during a truce.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet includes far-right parties that oppose any agreement that ends without the total destruction of Hamas.

"The second I spot weakness in the prime minister and if I come to think, heaven forbid, that this is about to end with us surrendering instead of with Hamas's absolute surrender, I won’t remain (in the government) for even a single day," Finance Minister Belalel Smotrich told Army Radio.

How Israel Abducted a Senior Hamas Security Official from the Heart of Gaza

Locals gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, 01 September 2026. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, at least four Palestinians were killed in Israeli air strikes on 01 September. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER

Gaza: Asharq Al Awsat

13:43-12 September 2026 AD ـ 30 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Gaza: Asharq Al Awsat

13:43-12 September 2026 AD ـ 30 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

How Israel Abducted a Senior Hamas Security Official from the Heart of Gaza

On September 1, an Israeli special forces unit abducted Moeen Al-Arabid, a senior security official with Hamas and its security apparatus, from the heart of an area controlled by the group in western Gaza City. The operation caused shock and disbelief within Hamas and among other Palestinian factions.

The area turned into a battlefield at the time of the operation, which was carried out in the morning. Israel used various types of aircraft, including warplanes, helicopters, and drones with different missions, to provide cover for the special forces unit affiliated with the Israeli General Security Service, known as the Shin Bet, ensure the operation's success, and facilitate the unit's withdrawal.

How the Operation Began

Sources familiar with the ongoing investigation into the operation told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israeli forces carried out intensive intelligence and military movements for more than a week before the attack. These movements were clearly visible, but the prevailing belief was that they were part of efforts to locate leaders or operatives from Palestinian factions in order to assassinate them, or part of military movements intended to demonstrate the forces' control inside the Gaza Strip.

The sources said that on several separate days over a period of roughly 10 days, military operations were carried out around what is known as the new road at the Netzarim Junction, which separates the northern, central, and southern parts of the Gaza Strip. Israel occupied the area during the war and constructed the road there.

Israeli military vehicles made incursions into the area almost daily during that period. Their movements, accompanied by gunfire, resulted in the complete closure of Salah Al-Din Road, the main thoroughfare, while Israeli forces maintained fire control over the area and its surroundings to prevent any movement by Palestinians.

The investigation shows that the Israeli special forces unit that carried out the operation entered and exited the Gaza Strip via this road under heavy protection from military vehicles conducting incursions in the area. The unit repeated the entry and exit scenario several times to monitor and reconnoiter the target site in western Gaza City, roughly no more than 4 kilometers away.

The special forces unit used the advancing military vehicles as cover to infiltrate through the new road near the Netzarim Corridor. This occurred on the morning before the operation, allowing the unit at times to reach the western side via the central coastal Al-Rashid Road, or through side streets leading to Street 10 and from there into the heart of Gaza City.

Intelligence Cover

The sources revealed that the operation was not limited to military movements on the ground. Israeli forces also intensified their intelligence cover by flying a large number of drones over wide areas. At least eight drones a day were operating for more than a week over the Katibah area where the attack took place, as well as the coastal road and its surroundings.

The sources said that the movement and density of the drones were continuously monitored. Those conducting the surveillance, whether members of the "resistance" or government security agencies, would send urgent reports about them. However, all assessments pointed to the possibility of an airstrike assassination, as had usually been the case.

No unusual movement by any armed party, such as special forces, armed gangs, or others, was detected on the ground. In the Katibah area, the situation appeared to be completely secure.

A Vital Location

One of the most significant findings to emerge recently came after security cameras, as well as cameras belonging to homes, commercial shops, and other locations installed along some streets and in certain areas, were tracked.

The Israeli special forces unit was identified through its use of a small bus. By tracking footage showing the vehicle, investigators determined that the unit had been present at a vital and strategically important location inside Gaza City on the day before the attack.

According to the findings, as revealed by Asharq Al-Awsat sources, the unit spent the night inside Gaza City before moving in the morning to carry out its security mission. It emerged that other members of the force were also present at the site, posing as vegetable vendors and others around the house where the senior Hamas security official was staying. He had been preparing for his son's wedding ceremony.

The investigation shows that the Israeli special forces unit used more than one vehicle during its infiltration, including on the day of the operation and when it withdrew. Those inside the bus were the ones who abducted Al-Arabid.

It also emerged that they had been moving around the area alongside other members of the force, indicating that the unit consisted of a large number of personnel, no fewer than 30. They withdrew in vehicles and on motorcycles under heavy aerial fire. Aircraft struck one of the vehicles belonging to the force, which was carrying a Palestinian license plate, while military vehicles moved into the area and closed Salah Al-Din Road toward the new road at the Netzarim Corridor to secure their safe passage and transport them into an Israeli-controlled position.

Earlier Details

Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat days earlier that the security operation had begun roughly two months ago, when Shin Bet officers assumed the identity of an international relief organization that would provide assistance to Palestinians by establishing small businesses, including stalls selling vegetables, drinks, and other goods in the area where the operation took place.

According to the sources at the time, Shin Bet used Palestinian operatives, including women, to carry out the project and supply them with vegetables every day, presenting them as aid from the organization. The proceeds from the sales were supposedly to benefit those taking part in the project. The operatives later asked them to monitor certain homes and the movements of specific individuals in the area, including Al-Arabid.

The sources said at the time that those running the project were later found, following the operation, to have been collaborators working for the Israeli Shin Bet. On the day of the operation specifically, new individuals appeared at some of the stalls, while others had been there since the previous day selling vegetables. They were later found to be Shin Bet operatives who had arrived in the area and concealed their weapons inside the stalls. When the time came to launch the attack, they took part in the operation before disappearing and withdrawing from the area.

Following the attack, Hamas security agencies succeeded in arresting collaborators and people who had benefited from the project run by the fictitious relief organization for questioning.

This is not the first time Israel has used the guise of international organizations to conduct operations inside the Gaza Strip. One such case occurred when an Israeli special forces unit infiltrated the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in March 2024, before military reinforcements arrived at the site. The operation subsequently continued for two weeks, during which Hamas operatives and members of its various security apparatuses were killed or captured, including commanders from the Al-Qassam Brigades.

Arab World

Aoun from Nabatieh: No New Negotiations with Israel at Present

Smoke rises in Mansouri following Israeli strikes as seen from Naqoura, Lebanon, September 11, 2026. REUTERS/Raghed Waked

Beirut: Asharq Al Awsat

09:13-12 September 2026 AD ـ 30 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

08:36-12 September 2026 AD ـ 30 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Beirut: Asharq Al Awsat

09:13-12 September 2026 AD ـ 30 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

08:36-12 September 2026 AD ـ 30 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Aoun from Nabatieh: No New Negotiations with Israel at Present

Smoke rises in Mansouri following Israeli strikes as seen from Naqoura, Lebanon, September 11, 2026. REUTERS/Raghed Waked

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun visited the country's south on Saturday, in a surprise trip to Nabatieh, a city close to the strategic Ali al-Taher ridge captured from Hezbollah and blown up by Israel.

Official Lebanese media said he arrived in Nabatieh unannounced and accompanied by security officials.

The National News Agency (NNA) quoted Aoun as saying that there would be no new negotiations with Israel at present, stressing that the withdrawal of Israeli forces, the return of prisoners and displaced people, and reconstruction remain national principles that Lebanon is committed to upholding.

Aoun expressed solidarity with locals who greeted him, according to footage broadcast by Lebanese media.

He praised staff at Nabatieh Governmental Hospital, saying they were risking their lives to provide medical services in the area, which most people have fled.

He spoke a day after a senior US diplomatic official said a new round of US-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon, initially scheduled for next week, had been pushed back to October.

Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah had eased off between late June and last week, thanks to a US-sponsored framework agreement between the two countries as well as a memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran in the wider Middle East war.

But the Israeli army has in recent days stepped up attacks again, particularly in the Nabatieh region.

On Thursday it blew up underground fortifications on Ali al-Taher ridge after seizing the site, which lies a few kilometers from Nabatieh city.

The explosion was large enough to trigger a tremor detected by seismic monitoring agencies.

Israeli strikes in the area have killed at least 29 people in the last few days, including 12 members of the same family.

The Lebanese army, which has deployed in Nabatieh city, warned on Wednesday that Israel's actions threatened the implementation of the framework agreement.

The agreement involves the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon's south and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region, starting in test areas known as "pilot zones.”

Arab World

Lebanon Moves to Protect Land Ownership in Occupied South

Smoke rises after Israeli demolition operations targeted the occupied southern Lebanese town of Khiam (AFP)

Beirut: Soubhi Amhaz

07:54-12 September 2026 AD ـ 30 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Beirut: Soubhi Amhaz

07:54-12 September 2026 AD ـ 30 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Lebanon Moves to Protect Land Ownership in Occupied South

Smoke rises after Israeli demolition operations targeted the occupied southern Lebanese town of Khiam (AFP)

Lebanon’s government has approved a draft law banning property sales in Israeli-occupied parts of the south, seeking to prevent wartime displacement and destruction from being exploited to transfer land through intermediaries, front companies, or fictitious buyers.

The cabinet approved on Thursday, at the Finance Ministry’s request, “a ban on real estate sales in areas occupied by the Israeli army.”

Lebanese Finance Minister Yassine Jaber told Asharq Al-Awsat that the government’s decision to ban land sales in occupied southern areas was intended to protect property rights and prevent any attempt to transfer ownership to parties linked to the occupation.

He said the preventive measure would protect the land from sales conducted through indirect or deceptive means.

“The government was keen to take a clear measure in light of the concerns raised about this issue, preventing any sales that could effectively lead to land ownership being transferred indirectly to undisclosed parties,” Jaber said.

The aim, he added, was to prevent sales “to fictitious individuals or companies,” referring to the potential use of names or corporate entities as fronts for indirect purchases.

Jaber linked the decision to efforts to preserve and protect land ownership in the south, saying it was part of “strengthening the resilience of southern communities, preserving and protecting the land in every respect, and safeguarding coexistence.”

The draft law comes as southern areas face widespread destruction, while residents remain displaced and some are unable to return to their towns. The situation has raised concerns extending beyond physical damage to the future of property ownership and residents’ ability to return.

Lebanese MP Abdel Rahman al-Bizri said the protection of property ownership was part of an effort to prevent the destruction and displacement from becoming permanent.

“It is clear that the Israeli occupier is pursuing a scorched-earth policy and working to eliminate every possibility for people and communities to return to the occupied territories in southern Lebanon,” al-Bizri told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“The systematic destruction it is carrying out — whether of homes, infrastructure, crops, schools, clinics, shelters or hospitals — targets every element people need to live and build a functioning community.”

“This indicates a deliberate plan to ensure that these lands remain unfit for the residents’ return, even if the Israeli occupier withdraws from them,” he added, pointing to “repeated visits and tours of Lebanese territory by extremist groups from within Israeli society.”

“This recalls similar scenes in the Syrian Golan Heights and the West Bank,” al-Bizri said. “Despite the Israeli government’s denials, it raises concerns about possible parallel activity by the Israeli authorities and extremist movements.”

Al-Bizri said the Lebanese government had prohibited land sales as a pre-emptive and preventive measure, barring the sale of property in occupied areas to Lebanese and non-Lebanese buyers alike.

The measure was intended to prevent such transactions from becoming “an entry point for a broader process that could later be exploited,” he said, recalling “what happened historically in Palestine before the Nakba.”

“Sovereignty does not mean only the deployment of the Lebanese army and security forces. It also means the return of the state, with all its services, to those areas — from municipalities and schools to healthcare and social protection,” al-Bizri said, adding that a substantial part of the responsibility rested with the government itself.

“Preventing land sales is part of the confrontation and part of our insistence that this land is Lebanese and that we want to keep it Lebanese,” he said. “This must go hand in hand with the state’s return and presence across all Lebanese regions.”

Ayoub Hmayed, an MP from the Development and Liberation parliamentary bloc, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the government’s decision was a “precautionary measure” aimed at protecting the land and closing any loophole that Israel could exploit.

The measure “reinforces Lebanese sovereignty over Lebanese territory,” he said.

Hmayed said the decision’s importance stemmed, “as a matter of principle,” from the need to prevent sales or transfers of ownership that could be exploited under occupation.

On the demographic implications, Hmayed said the problem extended beyond land sales to the conditions created by the war and occupation, including residents’ displacement and the inability of some to return to their towns. If the situation persisted, he warned, it would “certainly produce a different reality” on the ground.

He said the ban provided additional protection to landowners even when their homes had been destroyed and they were unable to return.

“Preventing land sales protects these people, just as it reinforces Lebanese sovereignty over Lebanese territory,” Hmayed said.

Israeli Strike Kills Hungry Gaza Family in Their Sleep

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