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Saddam Relative Arrested in Lebanon, Family Pleads Against Turning him over to Iraq

A plane flies in front the sunset behind the towers, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022. (AP)
A plane flies in front the sunset behind the towers, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022. (AP)
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Saddam Relative Arrested in Lebanon, Family Pleads Against Turning him over to Iraq

A plane flies in front the sunset behind the towers, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022. (AP)
A plane flies in front the sunset behind the towers, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022. (AP)

News broke out in Lebanon on Friday of the authorities’ arrest of Abdullah Yasser Sabawi al-Hassan, the grandson of Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan, the step-brother of late Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein.

Abdullah was arrested according to an Interpol arrest warrant that was requested by Iraq.

He was detained in Lebanon on July 11, revealed Saddam’s nephew, Saad Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan through posts on social media.

He pleaded with Arab and international rights groups to intervene to determine the fate of his nephew, whom he was said was “spitefully” arrested.

Lebanon’s General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim was quick to respond to the post, telling Iraqi television that he was arrested on charges of “carrying out criminal acts that left thousands dead.”

“We are working according to international law and repatriation agreements between nations,” he added.

He stressed that Iraq is a fraternal state to Lebanon and “we reject any act of impunity. We support the implementation of the law without any pressure. This is our duty towards the people of Iraq.”

In an attempt to cast doubt over the charges against Abdullah, Saad said his nephew had left Iraq in 2003 when he was just eight years of age.

He has since never returned to his country for several reasons, including being deprived of Iraqi nationality and all of his civil rights, continued Saad.

Abdullah had joined Saad when he was living in Yemen, which they were forced to quit due to the worsening security situation.

Abddullah chose to settle down in Lebanon, revealed Saad.

Upon his arrival, he was keen on submitting a request for protection from the United Nations. His request was approved.

Abdullah holds another nationality that is non-Iraqi. He lived in Lebanon for four years without coming under any harassment of pressure. He lived a calm life and did not cause any security or political tensions, continued Saad.

An informed judicial source in Lebanon revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that General Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat had received an Iraqi notice for Abdullah’s arrest through Interpol.

He ordered that Abdullah be arrested as soon as he was found.

After his arrest, he was turned over to the General Security, which will determine whether it is still legal for him to remain in Lebanon or whether he should be deported.

The source revealed that both Iraq and Yemen are demanding that he be turned over to them.

The decision now lies in the hands of the General Security chief and the judiciary is no longer involved, it added.

Abdullah’s family fears for his safety should be deported to Iraq.

Saad appealed to international organizations to intervene and “free” him.

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Arab World

Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 17 in Gaza as Ground Troops Enter Palestinian Territory’s North

A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
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Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 17 in Gaza as Ground Troops Enter Palestinian Territory’s North

A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)

Israeli strikes killed more than a dozen people in the Gaza Strip early Friday, as Israel sent more ground troops into the Palestinian territory to ramp up its offensive against Hamas.

At least 17 people, some from the same family, were killed after an airstrike hit the southern city of Khan Younis, according to hospital staff. Hours later, people were still searching through the rubble, looking for survivors.

The attack came a day after Israeli strikes killed at least 100 Palestinians. Hundreds more have died in the past two weeks, as Israel has intensified operations, intended to pressure Hamas to release remaining hostages it took during its attack on Israel in October 2023. On Friday, Israel said it had begun ground activity in northern Gaza, in order to expand its security zone.

Israel’s military had issued sweeping evacuation orders for parts of northern Gaza before expected ground operations. The UN humanitarian office said around 280,000 Palestinians have been displaced since Israel ended the ceasefire with Hamas last month.

In recent days, Israel has vowed to seize large parts of the Palestinian territory and establish a new security corridor across it.

To pressure Hamas, Israel has imposed a monthlong blockade on food, fuel and humanitarian aid that has left civilians facing acute shortages as supplies dwindle — a tactic that rights groups say is a war crime. Israel said earlier this week that enough food had entered Gaza during a six-week truce to sustain the territory’s roughly 2 million Palestinians for a long time.

Hamas says it will only release the remaining 59 hostages — 24 of whom are believed to be alive — in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli pullout from Gaza. The group has rejected demands that it lay down its arms or leave the territory.

The predawn strike on Friday hit a three-story building. In addition to the dead, the attack wounded at least 16 people from the same family. Associated Press reporters saw bodies being carried out in blankets, while others searched for people trapped under the rubble and collected charred remains.

“We don’t know how to collect them and how to bury them. We don’t know whose remains these are. They were burned and dismembered,” said Ismail Al-Aqqad, whose brother died in the strike, as well as his brother’s family.

On Thursday, more than 30 bodies, including women and children, were taken to hospitals in and around Khan Younis, according to hospital staff.

Israel said Friday that it had killed a top Hamas commander in a strike in Lebanon’s coastal city of Sidon. Israel said that Hassan Farhat was a commander of Hamas’ western area in Lebanon and that he was responsible for numerous attacks against Israel, including one in February 2024, which killed an Israeli soldier and injured others.

In Israel’s renewed offensive, troops have expanded the buffer zone, retaking the eastern section of the Netzarim corridor and partially disconnecting northern and southern Gaza.

The US-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, known as ACLED, reported there were over 300 airstrike events during 10 days at the end of March — nearly 10 times the number in February.

The war began when Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements and other deals. Israel rescued eight living hostages and has recovered dozens of bodies.

More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza as part of Israel's offensive, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t say whether those killed are civilians or combatants. The ministry says more than half of those killed were women and children. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 fighters, without providing evidence.

The war has left most of Gaza in ruins, and at its height displaced around 90% of the population.