According to the source, al-Arabid and his wife, Samah al-Khalidi-al-Arabid, confronted the Israeli soldiers inside their home. The soldiers killed the wife.
Israeli forces kidnapped a senior Hamas security official from his home in western Gaza City on Tuesday during an armed operation that killed his wife and wounded his son, according to Palestinian and Israeli sources.
Moen al-Arabid, head of Hamas' internal security apparatus in the Gaza Strip, was kidnapped after an Israeli special forces unit entered the area near the Katiba in western Gaza City, according to a Hamas source who spoke to The New Arab on condition of anonymity.
The source said the Israeli force, dressed in civilian clothes and travelling in two vehicles, including a white bus, entered the densely populated area before being discovered and engaging in an exchange of fire with Palestinian fighters.
Israeli drones subsequently carried out several strikes around the area, the source said, adding that the airstrikes provided cover for the Israeli forces during the operation.
According to the source, al-Arabid and his wife, Samah al-Khalidi-al-Arabid, confronted the Israeli soldiers inside their home.
Samah was killed during the confrontation, while their son, Obaida, was wounded, the source said, who added Obaida had been scheduled to celebrate his engagement on Wednesday.
The Israeli forces later arrested al-Arabid and removed him from the area while he was wounded, according to the source.
The source described the operation as a kidnapping rather than an attempt to kill al-Arabid, saying the Israeli forces had entered the area specifically to capture him alive.
One video appeared to show al-Arabid crawling along the ground while attempting to find cover. An Israeli bus then approached, and several projectiles were thrown in his direction.
The Hamas source said the projectiles were sound grenades rather than offensive grenades and were intended to distract the wounded man and prevent him from taking cover, facilitating his capture.
Israeli media later published a photograph purportedly showing al-Arabid after his arrest, depicting a handcuffed man who appeared to be injured.
Meanwhile, Palestinian sources also said that a vehicle attempting to leave the area toward eastern Gaza City came under attack about 200 meters from the site of the operation, causing additional casualties, including children.
Videos and photographs circulated on social media showed damage around al-Arabid's home, including a white bus with damaged windows and what appeared to be bullet marks.
Israeli officials confirmed that al-Arabid had been abducted during an operation in Gaza City.
Israeli Defence Minister Yisrael Katz said in a televised statement that Israeli forces were continuing their operations in Gaza City and had recently arrested a senior Hamas official.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that al-Arabid was one of the "most prominent Hamas leaders in Gaza."
Netanyahu accused al-Arabid of helping hide and transport Israeli captives, attempting to rebuild Hamas' capabilities, participating in efforts to restore Hamas' rule over the Gaza Strip and spreading what Israel claimed was misinformation concerning the disarmament of Gaza.
"My directives are clear," Netanyahu claimed, saying that Israel would continue pursuing Hamas leaders and those involved in the 7 October 2023 attack.
Israeli* Channel 12 *reported that al-Arabid was wounded during the operation and transferred to Israel for medical treatment.
The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, Kan, also quoted a security official as saying, "The target was wounded during the operation in the Gaza Strip and transferred to Israel for medical treatment."
According to Israel's Channel 11, the operation was planned and approved in recent days by Netanyahu and Katz. *Kan *reported that the Shin Bet security agency managed the operation.
Israeli sources cited by the channel said the operation was intended not only to obtain intelligence but also to send a message to senior Hamas leaders that they remained subject to Israeli pursuit despite the ceasefire.
The operation caused casualties and damage in the surrounding neighbourhood in Gaza, which includes shelters for displaced Palestinians and is located near an American field hospital and a kindergarten.
Zaher al-Wahidi, director of the Information Centre at Gaza's Health Ministry, told *TNA *that ambulance and civil defence crews recovered four bodies and treated eight wounded people following the Israeli operation.
He said two children and two women were among those killed, including Samah al-Arabid, al-Arabid's wife.
The dead and wounded were transferred to al-Shifa Medical Complex, he added.
For residents living near the site, however, the operation was experienced not only through its casualties but through the sudden fear it caused among families, particularly those with children nearby.
Marwa Ezzat, a resident of the area, said her children were inside a nearby kindergarten when the clashes began.
She told *TNA *that the sudden gunfire and airstrikes sent residents into panic as families rushed to reach their children and move away from the area.
"We were terrified because our children were inside the kindergarten and we could hear the gunfire and explosions around us," Marwa said. "Everyone was trying to find a way to reach their children and get them to safety."
"After the operation subsided, displaced families gradually returned to their shelters and homes," she added. "Some found their tents and belongings damaged by shrapnel, while many children remained frightened by the possibility of renewed gunfire or airstrikes."
Gaza-based Palestinian political analyst Mustafa Ibrahim told *TNA *that the operation appeared to have several objectives, including demonstrating Israel's ability to reach senior Hamas figures inside Gaza.
"Israel could have targeted al-Arabid from the air if its objective had been to kill him but instead chose to send a ground force to capture him alive," he said.
He added that the decision could indicate that Israeli security agencies wanted to obtain information from al-Arabid while he was alive, given his senior position within Hamas' security apparatus.
"The operation sends a message that the ceasefire does not prevent Israel from carrying out security operations inside Gaza," Ibrahim noted.
He explained that the arrest of a senior security official could give Israel access to sensitive information and create additional security risks for Hamas.
Hamas condemned the operation as a "serious crime" and accused Israel of deliberately endangering civilian lives.
The movement called on mediators and the U.S. administration to pressure Israel to stop what it described as violations of the ceasefire agreement.
In a press statement, Hamas said it had contacted mediators and Nikolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, requesting "maximum pressure" on the Israeli government to halt its operations and implement the ceasefire agreement.
The operation came amid continuing tensions over the implementation of the ceasefire, with Israel and Hamas accusing each other of violations.
According to Gaza's Health Ministry, 1,326 Palestinians have been killed and 4,398 wounded in the Gaza Strip since an alleged ceasefire agreement took effect on 10 October 2025.
The ministry said the cumulative Palestinian death toll since the outbreak of Israel's genocidal war in October 2023 had reached 73,462, with 174,509 people wounded.
The kidnapping of al-Arabid adds another point of tension to the fragile ceasefire, as Israel says it will continue pursuing Hamas figures while the Palestinian movement and mediators seek to preserve the agreement and advance its implementation.
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