7 Years after his Murder, Fate of Gaddafi’s Family Remains a Mystery

Muammar Gaddafi with wife Safia and sons: Saif al-Arab, Khamis and Muotasim Bellah (Getty Images)
Muammar Gaddafi with wife Safia and sons: Saif al-Arab, Khamis and Muotasim Bellah (Getty Images)
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7 Years after his Murder, Fate of Gaddafi’s Family Remains a Mystery

Muammar Gaddafi with wife Safia and sons: Saif al-Arab, Khamis and Muotasim Bellah (Getty Images)
Muammar Gaddafi with wife Safia and sons: Saif al-Arab, Khamis and Muotasim Bellah (Getty Images)

A recent court order banning Hannibal, son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, from leaving Lebanon for a year, brought back the discussion of the “mysterious fate” of Gaddafi’s family.

Some want Hannibal released from prison, stressing that he should not be punished for his father’s crimes, while others demanded Libyan authorities intervene in this case and reveal the truth to the people.

Three of Gaddafi's nine children were killed during the "revolution" by the "rebels," including Muotasim Bellah, who served as national security adviser to the country. The remaining six survived but are in different countries: al-Saadi imprisoned in Tripoli, Hannibal detained in Lebanon, and Saif al-Islam whose whereabouts are not known. In addition, Gaddafi's wife, Safia Farkash, left for Algeria with her daughter Aisha, whereas, Mohammed, Gaddafi’s eldest son from his first wife Fathia, moved to Oman. Reports indicated that Hana, their adopted sister, most likely died during the US bombing of Tripoli in 1986, and was only 4-years-old back then.

A Lebanese judge has banned Hannibal, Gaddafi’s fifth son, from leaving Lebanon for a year after a case was filed in which a Lebanese citizen, Hussein Hbeish, accused him of "forming a terrorist organization, kidnapping and attempted murder”, Lebanon’s The Daily Star reported Monday.

The newspaper said that Judge Rita Ghantous decided on July 12 to prevent Hannibal from leaving Lebanon for a year, and sent a memorandum to General Security to implement the decision.

In his lawsuit, Hbeish indicated that during a visit to Libya in 2016, he was kidnapped by an armed group loyal to Hannibal. The group demanded the Lebanese government release Gaddafi's son in exchange for setting Hbeish free.

Hannibal is also serving a one and a half year sentence for insulting the Lebanese judiciary. In December 2015, Lebanese authorities detained him as part of an investigation into the disappearance of Imam Musa al-Sadr and two of his companions after a visit to Libya at the invitation of Muammar Gaddafi in 1978.

Member of Libya’s House of Representatives Mohammed al-Abani expressed his "respect" to the Lebanese judiciary, but said that blaming Hannibal for his father’s mistakes is “unjust and very arbitrary.”

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Abani wondered how a person can be punished for the crime of a political system. He pointed out that at the time of the crime, Hannibal was just a child.

As for al-Saadi, Gaddafi's family was informed by its lawyer that al-Saadi, who had been imprisoned in al-Hadabah since Niger handed him over in March 2014, has disappeared.

Yet, Sadiq al-Sour, head of investigations at the prosecutor's office, explained that al-Saadi did not leave the prison. On April 3, al-Saadi’s lawyer, Mubaraka al-Tawergi, said that the court had cleared al-Saadi of charges related to the murder of the former al-Ittihad player and coach Bashir al-Riyani.

Al-Saadi is still in prison even though the court had issued its verdict three months ago. Judicial sources say he is on trial for other misdemeanours like kidnapping, and financing armed groups.

Many Libyans are divided about the future of Gaddafi's sons and their presence inside the country, according to a political source from Tripoli.

“There are tribes and parties who do not mind their return and rather welcome their integration into the political system,” the source added.

The source, who declined to be named, told Asharq Al-Awsat that some politicians do not want Gaddafi's sons, especially Saif al-Islam, in Libya’s political life.

He spoke about "an uncertain future for the family itself amid Saif al-Islam’s disappearance” who is wanted internationally, his sister’s Aisha’s residence outside the country, and al-Saadi's imprisonment.

Khamis, Gaddafi's seventh son, worked in the United States when the Libyan "revolution" erupted, but returned to Libya and was killed in August 2011. Also, Saif al-Arab, Gaddafi's sixth son, was killed after returning from Munich on April 30, 2011.

Saif al-Islam had not been seen since Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Brigade, in control of al-Zintan town, released him on June 11, 2017. The brigade said at the time that it released the man at the request of the interim government.

However, some people who claim to be close to him, have maintained his presence in the political scene by speaking on his behalf or issuing statements attributed to him, saying that he intends to run for the upcoming presidential elections, before others denied such statements altogether.

Saif al-Islam is wanted by Libyan judicial authorities after he was sentenced to death in absentia in 2015 for his role in the "suppression of the 2011 revolution”. In addition, the International Criminal Court also requested Saif al-Islam be tried for crimes against humanity during his father's presidency.

Libyan politician Suleiman al-Bayoudi expressed regret for "the absence of any role for the Libyan government in the arrest of Hannibal in Lebanon and its circumstances."

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Bayoudi called on the Libyan authorities to clarify to Libyans about the Hannibal case, and “have a legal and diplomatic role to defend any Libyan citizen."

As for Aisha, she has been put on the EU list of Libyan personnel whose bank accounts had been frozen and are banned from travelling.

The European Union’s General Court lifted the sanctions on Aisha in March last year and a travel ban on her mother Safia was also lifted.



Trump Says Deal for Ceasefire in Gaza Is Closer After Israel Agrees on Terms

A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches near the shore during the sunset in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP)
A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches near the shore during the sunset in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP)
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Trump Says Deal for Ceasefire in Gaza Is Closer After Israel Agrees on Terms

A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches near the shore during the sunset in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP)
A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches near the shore during the sunset in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP)

US President Donald Trump says Israel has agreed on terms for a new 60-day ceasefire with Hamas and that Washington would work with both sides during that time to try to end more than 20 months of war in Gaza.

Neither side has accepted the proposal announced Tuesday by Trump, who has admonished Hamas that if the group does not buy into the offer, its prospects will get worse. It's not clear what conditions Israel agreed to.

The efforts to reach a truce are unfolding in the wake of powerful Israeli and American strikes on nuclear sites in Iran, which has long supported Hamas, and just days before Trump is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington.

Here's a look at the situation and the challenges it might present.

Details are murky

Details of the proposed ceasefire are just beginning to emerge. But rather than being completely new, the potential deal seems to be a somewhat modified version of a framework proposed earlier this year by Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.

Trump said Tuesday in a social media post that Qatar and Egypt have been working on the details and would deliver a final proposal to Hamas.

An Egyptian official involved in the ceasefire talks told The Associated Press that the proposal calls for Hamas to release 10 more hostages during the two-month period — eight on the first day and two on the final day. During that period, Israel would withdraw troops from some parts of Gaza and allow badly needed aid into the territory.

The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 hostages. The group is believed to still have some 50 hostages, with fewer than half of them thought to be alive.

The Egyptian official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters, said a sticking point over how aid would be distributed had been resolved with Israel.

He said both sides have agreed that the United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent would lead aid operations and that the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund would also continue to operate.

Hamas has been weakened

The unraveling of Iran’s regional network of proxies, capped by the blow inflicted on Iran during the recent 12-day war with Israel, has left Hamas weaker and more isolated in the region. Iran was a key backer of the group, but its influence has waned, and it's now preoccupied with its own problems.

At the same time, Trump has made it clear to Israel that he wants to see the Israel-Hamas war end soon. While he has been supportive of Netanyahu, Trump had tough words for Israel in the opening hours of last week's ceasefire with Iran, when he pressured Israel to scale back its response to an Iranian missile attack. That could help persuade Hamas to embrace a deal.

A diplomat briefed on the talks said there is now a “big opportunity” to reach an agreement. “The indications we’re getting are people are ready.”

He said Trump’s harsh talk toward Israel has “given a bit of confidence to Hamas” that the US will guarantee any future deal and prevent a return to fighting. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing behind-the-scenes diplomatic contacts.

Israeli military positions and future talks pose obstacles

The Egyptian official said Israel has not yet agreed to a proposal to withdraw its forces to positions held in early March after a previous ceasefire officially expired. Since then, the Israeli army has seized large swaths of Gaza to put pressure on Hamas, and it's not clear whether Israel is ready to return to those same positions.

An Israeli official characterized the agreement as a 60-day deal that would include a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a surge in humanitarian aid to the territory.

The mediators and the US would provide assurances about talks on ending the war, but Israel is not committing to that as part of the latest proposal, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the details of the deal with the media and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Egyptian official said Hamas will have to review the proposal with other factions before submitting an official response.

One point that does seem to have been ironed out is the question of who will administer Gaza.

Israel has said Hamas cannot run the territory, and the Egyptian official said the proposal would instead put Gaza under a group of Palestinians without political affiliations known as the Community Support Committee once a ceasefire is reached.

Potentially complicating the effort, Netanyahu reiterated his hard-line position Wednesday, vowing that “there will be no Hamas” following the 60-day ceasefire plan.

Previous ceasefire did not last

A previous ceasefire agreed to in January established three phases, but the two sides never made it past phase one.

During that time, however, there were multiple exchanges of Hamas-held hostages for prisoners held by Israel, and critical humanitarian aid was able to reach Gaza.

When phase one expired on March 1, Israel sought to extend it while Hamas argued that phase two should go ahead as planned.

The second phase would have compelled Hamas to release all the remaining living hostages in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

That was always seen as difficult, because it would have forced Israel to choose between its two main war goals — the safe return of the hostages and the annihilation of Hamas.

On March 18, Israel broke the ceasefire with new airstrikes and resumed hostilities.

In Gaza, residents expressed hope that this time, a ceasefire will bring an end to the war.

“We are seriously tired,” said Asmaa al-Gendy, who has been living in a tent camp in Deir al Balah with her two children. The family has been displaced and starved and endured "every form of torture in the world.”