The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced this Tuesday that the Army and the internal Intelligence service of Israel, the Shin Bet, have arrested Muein al Arabid, the highest responsible for the internal security apparatus of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), in a joint operation near his home in the Gaza Strip.
"He is one of the most prominent leaders of Hamas and was responsible for hiding and transferring our hostages, for hiding high-ranking Hamas officials, increasing their strength, and attempting to restore the capabilities of the terrorist organization," the Prime Minister indicated in a statement released on social media.
Netanyahu has stated that recently Al Arabid would have promoted various actions to recompose Hamas's dominance in Gaza, as well as a disinformation campaign about the "demilitarization" of the enclave and about "terrorist" plans against the Israeli forces deployed in the area.
"My directive is clear: the State of Israel will continue to pursue all the leaders of Hamas and all those who participated in the massacre of October 7," Netanyahu pointed out, who congratulated the Army and the Shin Bet for the operation.
For its part, the Army specified that special units of the Shin Bet "raided a building in an urban area of Gaza," in the north of the Palestinian enclave, to proceed with the arrest of Al Arabid, whom they hold responsible for "promoting plans" terrorist against the forces deployed in the so-called 'yellow line', to which they withdrew after the ceasefire agreement reached in October.
"During the operation, the Air Force carried out selective attacks against several military targets in the area to eliminate threats to our forces; there were no casualties among the troops," it stated, before adding that Al Arabid has been "transferred" to Israeli territory, where an investigation has been opened against him.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have also emphasized, as in previous statements, that this type of incursions seeks to "eliminate threats" against their military, weaken Hamas's control in the Strip, and thwart "terrorist" plans against their soldiers and against the civilian population in Israel.
The Gazan Ministry of Interior, controlled by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), has reported, on the other hand, that four Palestinians, including two minors and a woman, lost their lives after a unit of Israeli special forces infiltrated the Katiba area, west of the city of Gaza, according to the news agency Sanad.
During the operation, the Israeli forces increased bombings over the area to cover the entry and withdrawal of the special units. The newspaper 'Filastin', close to the Palestinian militia, raises the death toll to six.
Furthermore, the Gazan Ministry of Interior has specified that Muein was injured in the clashes, in which his wife died, while several of his children also suffered injuries, without it being clear whether the woman is among the victims included in the official count released by the Gazan authorities.