12 Years After Gaddafi’s Death, What Do We Know about His Family?

An archive photo of Gadhafi, his wife Safiya and his sons Saif Al-Arab, Khamis and Al-Muatasem (Getty images)
An archive photo of Gadhafi, his wife Safiya and his sons Saif Al-Arab, Khamis and Al-Muatasem (Getty images)
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12 Years After Gaddafi’s Death, What Do We Know about His Family?

An archive photo of Gadhafi, his wife Safiya and his sons Saif Al-Arab, Khamis and Al-Muatasem (Getty images)
An archive photo of Gadhafi, his wife Safiya and his sons Saif Al-Arab, Khamis and Al-Muatasem (Getty images)

What happened to the family of the man, who ruled Libya with an iron fist for more than four consecutive decades? During the 12 years that followed the overthrow of the regime of the late President Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, his family did not meet even once, and his seven children were separated, either by death, or imprisonment, or voluntary exile.

Three of Gaddafi’s sons, namely Al-Muatasem, Saif Al-Arab and Khamis, were killed during the “uprising” that toppled the rule, while two other, Saif Al-Islam and Al-Saadi, were put on trial, before they received pardon from the Libyan authorities. The latter left for Türkiye, according to some reports.

Between pursuit and arrest

Khamis Gaddafi, who was commanding the 32nd Brigade in the city of Zliten, was killed during a NATO air strike in August 2011. Earlier the same year, a similar attack led to the death of Saif al-Arab, Gaddafi’s youngest son, after his house in Tripoli’s upscale Gharghur neighborhood was targeted. He was 29 years-old.

Contrary to his siblings, Saif al-Arab did not assume any leadership role, distanced himself from politics and avoided appearing in public events.

Muatasem, the fourth son of Gaddafi, who worked as a Libyan National Security Advisor, was killed along with his father, in the city of Sirte.

Gaddafi’s daughter, Aisha, disappeared from sight along with her brother Muhammad, the late Libyan leader’s eldest son from his first wife. They are reportedly residing in the Sultanate of Oman. Last week, the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee agreed to remove Aisha’s name from the travel ban lists, while keeping her on the asset freeze sanctions lists.

Gaddafi’s widow, Safiya Ferkash, currently lives in Cairo. Last year, she appealed a decision by a Malta court ordering the Bank of Valletta to return to Libya some 95 million euros ($100 million) deposited by Gaddafi’s late son Muatassem.

Ferkash and her lawyers said in their appeal that the courts lacked jurisdiction and could not decide the case over the funds.

As for Hannibal Gaddafi, he fled Libya to Syria, where he was kidnapped and transferred to a prison cell in Lebanon. Several campaigns and diplomatic efforts have so far failed to secure his release.

Saif al-Islam and the dream of returning to power

Saif al-Islam, the second son of Gaddafi, is the only family member who is still seeking to return to power. He reportedly moves between the cities of the southern region of Libya, hoping that the circumstances will allow him to run in the elections. His brother, Al-Saadi, currently lives in Türkiye and has no declared political activity.

Saif al-Islam was arrested in November 2011 by an armed brigade, while he was trying to flee outside Libya towards Niger. A Libyan court in Tripoli issued a death sentence against him in absentia, after accusing him of “suppressing the Libyan revolution.” Amnesty International had previously called on the Libyan authorities to hand over Saif al-Islam and former intelligence director Abdullah al-Senussi to the International Criminal Court, on charges of “committing crimes against humanity.”

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Khaled Al-Zaidi, Saif Al-Islam’s attorney, said that the man’s “chances are great” in the upcoming presidential elections.

Saif al-Islam has spent the past 12 years in self-imposed exile inside the country. He has not spoken to Libyans directly since his last controversial speech, which he delivered during the NATO-backed “revolution” in February 2011. However, Al-Zaidi confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that his client will address the people directly when the final lists for the presidential elections are announced.

“In this case, he will go out and speak... When his electoral candidacy is accepted, he will go out to the Libyans and talk about the future of the country... Choosing the right timing is important,” he stated.

Although those close to Saif al-Islam claim that he enjoys complete freedom of movement, he has never been seen in the eastern and western regions.

Al-Zaidi said in this regard: “He has contacts with all the leaders,” pointing out that his client was based in Libya, not just the south.

The lawyer also rejects the reports that claimed that Saif al-Islam’s candidacy for the elections was a collective decision by the family.

He explained: “Talk about the family’s mandate is incorrect. It is not the family’s decision... This is the people’s choice.”

Hannibal Gaddafi

According to observers, Saif al-Islam is also working for the release of his younger brother, Hannibal, who is currently detained in Lebanon.

According to information obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat, Saif’s lawyer submitted a request to the Syrian Public Prosecutor to reopen the investigation into the kidnapping of Hannibal from Syrian territory, and his subsequent transfer to Lebanon.

Al-Zaidi explained to Asharq Al-Awsat that he recently visited Syria and filed a complaint against Hassan Yaqoub, who is accused of kidnapping Hannibal from the country in 2018, on the grounds that he is a “political refugee and was under the protection of the Syrian authorities.”

In this regard, he said: “He was kidnapped in Syria, and transferred against his will and by all means of torture to Lebanon.”

In his complaint over what he described as crimes of kidnapping, torture, and the forced disappearance of Hannibal Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam - represented by his lawyer - said that armed elements affiliated with Hassan Mohammad Yaqoub, a former Lebanese deputy, abducted Hannibal inside Syrian territory on December 11, 2015.

He also pointed to “torture, violence, and death threats against him,” citing a video showing mutilation and bruises on his face and body.

The 12-page lawsuit, a copy of which was obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat, called on the Syrian Attorney General to intervene urgently and address all concerned parties in order to release Hannibal, who was “arbitrarily” detained by the Lebanese state authorities, and to hold Lebanon legally responsible for his personal safety.

In a press conference held last August, on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the absence of Imam Musa al-Sadr, Yaqoub accused Gaddafi and his supporters of being involved “in the kidnapping of his father.”

Yaqoub’s father is Sheikh Muhammad Yaqoub, one of Imam Musa al-Sadr's companions, who was last seen in Libya on August 31, 1978, after he arrived there by official invitation. The former deputy did not respond to Asharq Al-Awsat’s attempt to contact him.

According to Bassam Mawlawi, the Lebanese Minister of the Interior, Hannibal received medical care in a hospital in Lebanon after he went on a hunger strike to protest his imprisonment.

Hannibal had always caused trouble during his father’s rule. In 2008, he stirred a diplomatic crisis, which led to Libya’s severance of relations with Switzerland, after being accused and his wife, Aline, of ill-treating a Tunisian maid and a Moroccan servant during their stay in Geneva.

Al-Saadi, the football player

When the Libyan House of Representatives approved presidential and national Assembly election laws, Al-Saadi Gaddafi said on X that Libya “is now in the right direction... This is a promising beginning.”

The report of the Committee of Experts for the year 2023 showed a copy of a power of attorney signed by Al-Saadi for one of his assistants, regarding an apartment he owns in Canada, and revealing his current residence in the Turkish city of Istanbul.

Al-Saadi, who was a professional football player in the Libyan and Italian teams, during his father’s rule, also worked as a Special Forces commander. He was acquitted in 2018 of the charge of killing former football coach Bashir Al-Rayani, a case that emerged before his father’s regime was overthrown in 2011.



Israel Wary of Egypt's 'Military Infrastructure' in Sinai: Peace Treaty at Risk?

Egyptian army chief Ahmed Khalifa inspects troops near Israel's border late last year. (Military spokesman)
Egyptian army chief Ahmed Khalifa inspects troops near Israel's border late last year. (Military spokesman)
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Israel Wary of Egypt's 'Military Infrastructure' in Sinai: Peace Treaty at Risk?

Egyptian army chief Ahmed Khalifa inspects troops near Israel's border late last year. (Military spokesman)
Egyptian army chief Ahmed Khalifa inspects troops near Israel's border late last year. (Military spokesman)

Israel has voiced growing concerns over Egypt’s military presence in the Sinai Peninsula, fearing a potential escalation between the two sides amid the ongoing Gaza war.

Israeli media reports said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has asked both Washington and Cairo to dismantle what it describes as a “military infrastructure” established by the Egyptian army in Sinai.

However, an informed Egyptian source and experts cited by Asharq Al-Awsat insisted that Egypt has not violated its peace treaty with Israel. They argued that Cairo’s military movements are a response to Israeli breaches of the agreement.

Israel’s Israel Hayom newspaper, citing a senior Israeli security official, reported that Egypt’s military buildup in Sinai constitutes a “major violation” of the security annex of the peace treaty.

The official said the issue is a top priority for Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, stressing that Israel “will not accept this situation” amid what it views as Egypt’s growing military footprint in the peninsula.

The official added that the issue goes beyond the deployment of Egyptian forces in Sinai exceeding the quotas set under the military annex of the Camp David Accords.

The real concern, he said, lies in Egypt’s continued military buildup in the peninsula, which Israel views as an irreversible step.

Moreover, he stressed that while Israel is not seeking to amend its peace treaty with Egypt or redeploy troops along the border, it believes the current situation requires urgent action to prevent a potential escalation.

Egypt-Israel relations have not seen such tensions since the outbreak of the Gaza war, particularly after Israel violated a ceasefire agreement with Hamas brokered primarily by Egypt. Israeli forces resumed airstrikes on Gaza last month and failed to fulfill their commitments to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor and Palestinian border crossings.

A senior Egyptian source dismissed Israel’s accusations, telling Asharq Al-Awsat that “these repeated Israeli pretexts ignore the fact that Israeli forces have violated the peace treaty, seizing control of areas where Egypt objects to their presence without the necessary coordination with Cairo.”

Egypt has the right to take all necessary measures to safeguard its national security against any threats, emphasized the source.

“Nevertheless, Cairo remains fully committed to the peace treaty and has no intention of aggression against any party,” it added.

Israeli forces seized control of the Gaza-Egypt border, including the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah crossing, in May 2024. Israel has accused Egypt of not doing enough to stop weapons smuggling into Gaza through border tunnels—an allegation Cairo has denied.

Under the terms of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas, which Israel later broke, Israeli forces were supposed to begin withdrawing from the Philadelphi Corridor on March 1, completing the pullout within eight days. However, Israel failed to do so and instead resumed airstrikes on Gaza.

Israel also announced the creation of an administration aimed at facilitating the “voluntary departure” of Gaza residents, a move Cairo strongly rejected and formally condemned.

Egypt has insisted that Palestinians must remain in their homeland and has put forward a reconstruction plan for Gaza and called for the implementation of the two-state solution. The plan was endorsed at an emergency Arab summit three weeks ago.

Media reports have indicated that Egypt responded to Israel’s control of the Gaza border by increasing its military presence near the frontier—an act that some Israeli officials claim violates the peace treaty and threatens Israel’s security.

Former Egyptian intelligence official Gen. Mohammed Rashad told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israel itself violated the peace treaty by seizing the Philadelphi Corridor, controlling border crossings, and blocking aid to Gaza while seeking to forcibly displace Palestinians into Egypt.

“Every Israeli action along Gaza’s border with Egypt constitutes hostile behavior against Egypt’s national security,” said Rashad, who previously headed the Israeli military affairs division in Egypt’s intelligence service.

“Egypt cannot sit idly by in the face of such threats and must prepare for all possible scenarios.”

The Philadelphi Corridor is a strategically sensitive buffer zone, serving as a narrow 14-kilometer passage between Egypt, Israel, and Gaza, stretching from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south.

Military expert General Samir Farag insisted that Egypt has not violated the peace treaty or its security annex in over 40 years, arguing that Israel has repeatedly breached the agreement and is attempting to shift blame onto Cairo.

“Israel is doing this to distract from its internal problems, including public discontent over its ballooning defense budget,” Farag told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“It also wants to deflect attention from Egypt’s reconstruction plan for Gaza and leverage its claims to pressure the United States for more military aid by portraying Egypt as a threat.”

Farag emphasized that Egypt’s actions are solely aimed at protecting its national security, adding: “There is no clause in the peace treaty that prevents a country from defending itself.”

“The so-called ‘military infrastructure’ Israel refers to consists of roads and development projects in Sinai.”

“The US has satellite surveillance over the region—if Egypt had violated the treaty, Washington would have flagged it. Moreover, security coordination between Egypt and Israel continues daily,” he explained.

Egypt and Israel signed their landmark peace treaty on March 25, 1979, committing to resolving disputes peacefully and prohibiting the use or threat of force. The agreement also established military deployment guidelines and a joint security coordination committee.

Meanwhile, US Republican Party member Tom Harb told Asharq Al-Awsat that Washington has received intelligence from multiple sources indicating that Egypt has amassed a significant military force in Sinai.

Israel considers this a breach of the peace treaty, which designates Sinai as a demilitarized zone to prevent surprises like the 1973 war, Harb said.

While the US fully supports Israel’s concerns, it also wants to prevent further escalation, as that would destabilize the region, he added.

Ultimately, Egypt must clarify whether its troop movements are aimed at threatening Israel or preventing Palestinians from crossing into Egyptian territory, he stated.