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Sources to Asharq Al-Awsat: Qassam Field Commander Abducted in Gaza

Fighters of the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, stand guard as they search for the bodies of Israeli hostages alongside Red Cross workers in Al Shejaeiya neighborhood in the east of the Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 05 November 2025. (EPA)
Fighters of the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, stand guard as they search for the bodies of Israeli hostages alongside Red Cross workers in Al Shejaeiya neighborhood in the east of the Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 05 November 2025. (EPA)
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Sources to Asharq Al-Awsat: Qassam Field Commander Abducted in Gaza

Fighters of the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, stand guard as they search for the bodies of Israeli hostages alongside Red Cross workers in Al Shejaeiya neighborhood in the east of the Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 05 November 2025. (EPA)
Fighters of the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, stand guard as they search for the bodies of Israeli hostages alongside Red Cross workers in Al Shejaeiya neighborhood in the east of the Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 05 November 2025. (EPA)

Unidentified gunmen abducted a field commander in the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, on Sunday evening in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood southwest of Gaza City, field sources in Hamas told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The sources said the abducted man commands a unit in the Qassam Brigades. They added that large numbers of Qassam fighters deployed across Gaza City on Sunday evening local time and began pursuing “two vehicles believed to be carrying the kidnappers”.

Heavy gunfire was heard in several parts of Gaza City, apparently linked to the pursuit of the abductors.

According to one Hamas source, “it is likely that an Israeli special force, or members of an armed gang collaborating with Israel, was behind the abduction”.

The incident coincided with an attempted assassination on Sunday of an officer in the Hamas government’s security apparatus, who is also a prominent Qassam activist, in the al-Zawayda area of central Gaza. He was lightly wounded, while one of the attackers was arrested after being chased down.

In recent weeks, the Gaza Strip has seen repeated infiltration attempts by members of armed gangs backed by Israel, at times leading to clashes and reciprocal pursuit operations with Qassam Brigades fighters. Drones have also appeared in attacks targeting Qassam members, killing and wounding some of them, as happened earlier this month in Khan Younis.

About two weeks ago, Hamas sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the interrogation of a man accused of working with armed gangs active in areas of the Gaza Strip under Israeli control showed growing support from Israeli forces for those groups.

According to the sources, the interrogation showed that Israel is training members of the gangs to use drones carrying explosives and weapons.

Since the ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hamas in October last year, a notional boundary known as the “Yellow Line” has separated areas controlled by the movement to the west from areas to the east where the Israeli army and allied Palestinian armed gangs are deployed.

The Hamas sources, citing the interrogation, said the drone training was not limited to offensive use. They noted that members of those armed gangs, particularly in Khan Younis and northern Gaza, had recently managed to use drones to carry weapons and drop them in remote areas for operatives recruited by sleeper cells deep inside Hamas-controlled territory.

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Arab World

Gazans Turn to Clay, Rubble to Build New Homes

A Palestinian boy makes his way across rubble near a displacement camp in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, on Sunday. Credit: AFP/EYAD BABA
A Palestinian boy makes his way across rubble near a displacement camp in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, on Sunday. Credit: AFP/EYAD BABA
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Gazans Turn to Clay, Rubble to Build New Homes

A Palestinian boy makes his way across rubble near a displacement camp in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, on Sunday. Credit: AFP/EYAD BABA
A Palestinian boy makes his way across rubble near a displacement camp in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, on Sunday. Credit: AFP/EYAD BABA

While Gaza’s housing crisis remains catastrophic with cement and steel blocked by Israel from entering the Strip, some Palestinians are turning to improvised methods and other workarounds in a bid to make their shelters safer or more habitable.

Among those Palestinians is Jaafar Atallah, a potter in Gaza, who decided to build a home from the earth. It was to be like the bread ovens his family had been making for generations, but big enough for his parents to live in, according to the Financial Times.

Atallah gathered clay from an area of Gaza a few kilometers from his tent and — with the help of about 15 people, including his father, also a potter — he set about making mud bricks.

For months, they learned as they built. Finally, they completed a domed hut, “so solid you could stand on top of it”, said Atallah, whose project was backed by pottery groups around the world after he shared videos online.

The clay structure was a relief after the flimsy protection of the tent: “You can keep your food in this room. In a tent, tomatoes and cucumbers won’t last a day and will rot. Life in the tents is so hard. There is such heat in the summer, it is torture,” Atallah said.

Atallah’s experience reflects the reality of thousands of families looking for alternatives after almost all buildings in Gaza have been destroyed by two years of bombardment amid Israel’s ban on concrete and steel imports.

Several Gazans are reusing steel reinforcing bars and concrete from the debris of buildings, scavenging for cement lying underwater in the port and resorting to mud to make bricks and mortar.

“We already have clay in our land, we don’t have to manufacture it, we don’t need things that we have to get from the crossing [with Israel], which is at the whim of the occupation,” said Atallah, who even designed a waterproof glaze for the bricks. “The occupation does not control this. It’s from our land, our soil.”

According to the UN, 1.9 million Gazans are displaced or live in tents, which lack sanitation or other utilities.

Reconstruction of Gaza remains a distant dream for its people. Israel bans building materials from entering Gaza on the grounds that the materials may be used for military purposes such as tunnel construction.

In May, teenage sisters Tala, 17, and Farah Moussa, 15, won a youth-focused award from the Swiss-based Earth Foundation for recycling cement debris into bricks.

Displaced with their family five times since the start of the war, they now live in a tent in Nuseirat in the center of the Gaza Strip. “We got the idea when our house was bombed,” said Tala. “We thought we had to do something and find a solution that comes from the problem itself, so we are using the rubble.”

Tala said, “We made five or six prototypes before we got it right. We researched on the internet and in books. Now we want to use the [$12,500] prize money to set up workshops to teach others how to make bricks.”

Using mud and stones, Gaza residents rebuild homes destroyed in months of conflict, as lack of access to construction material leaves families with few options.

Their efforts reflect the ability to adapt to the most extreme conditions to restore a normal life, even within walls built from the earth and the debris of buildings.

Arab World

Yemen Seeks Resumption of US Investments in Energy Sector

Al-Alimi during his meeting with the delegation from Hunt Oil Company (Saba)
Al-Alimi during his meeting with the delegation from Hunt Oil Company (Saba)
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Yemen Seeks Resumption of US Investments in Energy Sector

Al-Alimi during his meeting with the delegation from Hunt Oil Company (Saba)
Al-Alimi during his meeting with the delegation from Hunt Oil Company (Saba)

The head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), Rashad Al-Alimi, has met with a delegation from the American Hunt Oil Company, headed by the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Hunter Hunt.

The meeting on Sunday reviewed opportunities for partnership between the Yemeni government and Hunt Oil in the exploration, production, and export of oil and gas. It also discussed prospects for the company to resume its investments in Yemen in support of the country’s economic recovery and energy security.

Al-Alimi was briefed by the delegation on the company’s current operations, future plans, and promising investment opportunities in Yemen’s oil sector, building on its long-standing partnership with the Yemeni government.

The PLC President praised Hunt Oil’s pioneering role in establishing Yemen’s petroleum sector, including the discovery of the country’s first commercially viable oil reserves, its contributions to developing oil infrastructure, training national personnel, and its role as a key partner in the Yemen LNG project.

He said these contributions would remain a source of appreciation for both the government and the Yemeni people.

Al-Alimi also outlined the economic, financial, and administrative reforms being implemented by the government, particularly in the oil and gas sector.

He highlighted efforts to improve the investment climate, strengthen transparency and governance, and provide the necessary guarantees for the return of foreign companies across various sectors.

He commended Saudi support to Yemen’s economy, describing it as a key pillar for enhancing stability, advancing economic reform, and restoring investor confidence.

The PLC President reaffirmed the state’s commitment to providing all necessary support and facilities for investors. He said the government would work with regional and international partners to secure vital infrastructure and create conditions for the resumption of production activities.

He added that improving living standards and security across the country remains a top priority for the Yemeni government.

Arab World

Syria, Iraq Agree to Expand Cooperation in Energy, Security and Economy

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa receives Iraqi FM Fuad Hussein in Damascus on Monday. (SANA)
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa receives Iraqi FM Fuad Hussein in Damascus on Monday. (SANA)
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Syria, Iraq Agree to Expand Cooperation in Energy, Security and Economy

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa receives Iraqi FM Fuad Hussein in Damascus on Monday. (SANA)
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa receives Iraqi FM Fuad Hussein in Damascus on Monday. (SANA)

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein visited Damascus on Monday on his first trip since there since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad's regime in December 2024.

He held talks with President Ahmed al-Sharaa and his Syrian counterpart Asaad al-Shaibani.

The meeting with Sharaa focused on bilateral relations and ways to expand cooperation across various sectors, reported Syria’s state news agency SANA.

The two sides also discussed regional and international developments and stressed the importance of strengthening coordination and consultation between Syria and Iraq in addressing shared challenges.

Talks with Shaibani focused on practical mechanisms to strengthen bilateral relations and advance mutual cooperation across various sectors.

The FMs agreed to establish a high committee for joint coordination, co-chaired by both ministers, to ensure the consistent follow-up and execution of outcomes stemming from bilateral cooperation while streamlining joint initiatives.

The discussions also focused on energy infrastructure, specifically looking into mechanisms for oil transit and grid integration, alongside a project to rehabilitate oil pipelines extending from Iraq to Syria.

They also addressed frameworks for strategic cooperation in the sectors of water management and agriculture, which aims to boost mutual food security, stimulate economic integration, and serve shared bilateral interests.

They explored avenues to upgrade security coordination and intelligence sharing, bolstering regional stability and supporting collaborative efforts to confront mutual security challenges.