Jordanian Military Warns King's Half-Brother to Stop Actions Undermining Stability

A general view taken from Jabal Al Qala district shows a Jordanian flag fluttering above the Jordanian capital Amman. (AFP)
A general view taken from Jabal Al Qala district shows a Jordanian flag fluttering above the Jordanian capital Amman. (AFP)
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Jordanian Military Warns King's Half-Brother to Stop Actions Undermining Stability

A general view taken from Jabal Al Qala district shows a Jordanian flag fluttering above the Jordanian capital Amman. (AFP)
A general view taken from Jabal Al Qala district shows a Jordanian flag fluttering above the Jordanian capital Amman. (AFP)

Jordan’s military has told King Abdullah’s half-brother Prince Hamza bin Hussein to halt actions targeting “security and stability” in what people familiar with the matter said could be related to a plot to destabilize the country.

In a statement published by the state news agency, the military said the warning to Prince Hamza was part of a broader, ongoing security investigation in which a former minister, a junior member of the royal family and unnamed others were detained.

Prince Hamza said in a video recording he was under house arrest and had been told to stay at home and not contact anyone.

Earlier, army chief Yusef Huneity denied reports the prince had been arrested but said he was told to “stop activities that are being exploited to target Jordan’s security and stability”.

King Abdullah dismissed Prince Hamza as heir to the throne in 2004.

The move against Prince Hamza represents the first such incident involving a close member of the royal family since King Abdullah came to the throne.

The state news agency said Bassem Awadallah, a US-educated long-time confidant of the king who later became minister of finance, and Sharif Hassan Ben Zaid, a member of the royal family, were detained along with other unnamed figures.

It gave no details.

The Saudi royal court voiced its full support for King Abdullah and all decisions taken by him to maintain security and stability. Egypt, Lebanon, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar also stood by him. The US State Department said the king was a “key partner” and had its full backing.

Arrests of top officials and royal family members are rare in Jordan, seen as one of the Arab world’s most stable countries.

Awadallah was a driving force behind economic reforms before he resigned as chief of the royal court in 2008. He stepped down after coming under public criticism over alleged interference in controversial political and economic issues.



Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 29

A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
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Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 29

A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli airstrikes on Sunday killed at least 29 Palestinians, including six children near a water distribution point.

The attacks came with apparent deadlock in a week of indirect talks in Qatar between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas for a ceasefire in the territory.

Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that Gaza City was hit by several strikes overnight and in the early morning, killing eight, "including women and children" and wounding others.

An Israeli airstrike hit a family home near the Nuseirat refugee camp, south of Gaza City, resulting in "10 martyrs and several injured", Bassal said.

In central Gaza, six children were among eight people killed when a drone "hit a potable water distribution point in an area for displaced people" in the Nuseirat camp, he added.

Several other people were wounded, he said.

In the territory's south, three people were killed when Israeli jets hit a tent sheltering displaced Palestinians in the coastal Al-Mawasi area, according to the civil defense spokesman.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has recently intensified its operations across Gaza, more than 21 months into the war triggered by Hamas's October 2023 attack.

On Saturday, the military said fighter jets had hit more than 35 "Hamas terror targets" around Beit Hanun in northern Gaza.

The vast majority of Gaza's population of more than two million people have been displaced at least once during the war, which has created dire humanitarian conditions in the territory.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties.