He had managed to get on the list of Palestinian students admitted to university programs in Italy. On Tuesday, he was about to leave Gaza with a group of 17 other young people headed to Rome. But at the Kerem Shalom crossing, Mahmoud Al Najjar was arrested by the IDF on charges of being an operative of Hamas's Northern Brigade and of participating in the October 7, 2023, massacre. The new Israeli army spokeswoman, Ariella Mazor, revealed this on X in response to a post on the Gaza news site Drop Site.
According to journalist Muthanna al-Najjar's account to the Gaza-based media outlet, "Mahmoud, originally from Jabaliya, was arrested on Tuesday after finally being granted permission to leave the Strip and travel to Tor Vergata University in Rome, following months of efforts to obtain an exit permit." Drop Site also reports that "Mahmoud has published three academic research articles" and that after his arrest "he was taken to an unknown location and his family has received no information." Furthermore, according to journalist Muthanna, "he is the only survivor of his family," who were reportedly killed in an Israeli raid.
Israeli technology, which also allows for facial recognition, may have been responsible for blocking Mahmoud at the Kerem Shalom crossing: although he eluded the IDF's search for him for nearly three years, he may have been betrayed by the numerous videos Hamas posted online from kibbutzim in southern Israel during the massacre. But everything remains to be verified.
Now the faces of those 7,000 who attacked Israel are on the list of the special unit hunting the October 7 militants. Meanwhile, the group of students including Mahmoud has arrived in Rome, having been allowed to leave Gaza as part of an initiative promoted by Rome to support Palestinian students. Since last fall, 229 university students have already arrived in Italy from Gaza.
(Unioneonline)
