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The family of well-known Gaza activist Amin Abed, who has been openly critical of Hamas, has accused the militant group of assaulting him.
Mr Abed, 35, was in critical condition in a hospital in northern Gaza after being attacked on Monday while walking home. His father, Salah Abed, confirmed the attack to The National on Tuesday.
Hamas had not commented by Tuesday afternoon.
The assault came less than a month after Mr Abed talked to the Palestinian Wattan News Agency about "the pain of seeing our youth of country being killed under the slogan of resistance. This empty slogan".
"This isn’t what resistance should look like,” Mr Abed said.
His father said Mr Abed is in hospital and in critical condition, suffering from fractures in his legs and arms.
A witness to the assault also confirmed to The National details of the attack.
“What happened to Amin was that 20 masked men grabbed him near Al Fakhoura School, close to his home in northern Gaza, and dragged him to an area about 100 metres away on Monday evening,” the witness said.
“The masked men beat Amin on the street for more than half an hour using the ends of their weapons and boots, taking advantage of the deserted streets due to the significant destruction in the area by the occupation forces over the past months.”
The witness told The National that several women who were nearby heard the sound of Mr Abed’s screams and tried to stop the masked men, but were told the attackers were "internal security" and warned not to interfere.
Mr Abed had helped organise protests in 2019 over perceived harsh economic conditions under Hamas rule and taxes it had imposed. Gaza has been under an Israeli and Egyptian blockade since Hamas seized power in 2007. More recently, Mr Abed criticised the Hamas-led October 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war.
“Amin paid the price for the truth and was assaulted because he was trying to uncover facts and stand up for the oppressed homeland and its citizens,” Mr Abed’s father said. "He was attacked while walking towards our home, beaten with sticks, batons and knives, and arrived at the hospital in a very difficult condition."
Members of the security personnel run by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, who maintained a high degree of public order before the war, have largely vanished from the streets after being targeted by Israeli strikes, but the militant group still exerts control of the territory. Criminal gangs and other armed groups have exploited the breakdown of law and order, robbing aid convoys and further complicating humanitarian efforts.
“Hamas's policy of silencing dissent will not succeed in quieting Amin or any other voice opposing what Hamas has done to the people, leading to disaster,” his father told The National.
Karim Jouda, one of Amin's friends, told The National the attack has aggravated those in the besieged Gaza Strip who are not afraid to speak up.
“I felt intense anger when I saw his picture [of him in hospital] while I was in the south of Gaza,” Mr Jouda said. "All my life, I used to see him standing in the camp and everyone loves him and he serves everyone."
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALS
England v New Zealand (Saturday, 12pm)
Wales v South Africa (Sunday, 1pm)
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
IF YOU GO
The flights
FlyDubai flies direct from Dubai to Skopje in five hours from Dh1,314 return including taxes. Hourly buses from Skopje to Ohrid take three hours.
The tours
English-speaking guided tours of Ohrid town and the surrounding area are organised by Cultura 365; these cost €90 (Dh386) for a one-day trip including driver and guide and €100 a day (Dh429) for two people.
The hotels
Villa St Sofija in the old town of Ohrid, twin room from $54 (Dh198) a night.
St Naum Monastery, on the lake 30km south of Ohrid town, has updated its pilgrims' quarters into a modern 3-star hotel, with rooms overlooking the monastery courtyard and lake. Double room from $60 (Dh 220) a night.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
