The high-stakes mission was executed deep inside the Gaza Strip through a coordinated joint effort between the special forces of Israel’s domestic security agency, Shin Bet, and the IDF.
By Hezy Laing
A daring, daylight ground operation in Gaza City on September 1, 2026, culminated in the live capture of Muein al-Arabid (also spelled Moin Al-Arabeed), the powerful head of Hamas’s internal security apparatus.
The high-stakes mission was executed deep inside the Gaza Strip through a coordinated joint effort between the special forces of Israel’s domestic security agency, Shin Bet, and the IDF.
This targeted incursion marked the first time since the implementation of the regional ceasefire that Israeli authorities publicized a high-level capture operation of this magnitude inside a Hamas-controlled sector.
The tactical raid unfolded rapidly on Tuesday morning within the crowded Katiba area of western Gaza City.
Shin Bet operators successfully breached a building near al-Arabid’s residence to take the security chief into custody.
During the physical extraction, the operating unit was compromised, igniting immediate, heavy exchanges of gunfire.
To safeguard the ground troops from Hamas threats, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) deployed supportive airstrikes against multiple nearby military targets.
Ground witnesses described a chaotic scene where a security jeep engaged threats for over fifteen minutes alongside five to six sudden aerial strikes in the Rimal neighborhood.
The operation concluded with no casualties sustained among the Israeli forces.
Al-Arabid was wounded during the confrontation, seized by operators, and subsequently transferred into Israeli territory for immediate medical treatment and intensive interrogation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz issued formal statements praising the precision of the special forces.
Intelligence officials accused al-Arabid of actively concealing and transporting Israeli hostages seized during the October 7, 2023 attacks, sheltering top-tier commanders, and masterminding a clandestine network to restore Hamas’s civil governance and operational capabilities.
Concurrently, Arabic-language media platforms like Al Hadath asserted that an Israeli-backed, anti-Hamas Arab militia assisted the ground teams.
