A Palestinian father was beaten in front of his wife and eight children after masked, heavily armed gunmen barged into his home in northern Gaza in the early hours of September 24. The men threatened to kill his children, assaulted two of his brothers-in-law and took away another relative, in a raid that residents say reflects the growing fear faced by families living near Israeli military positions.
Youssef Al-Sheikh was asleep with his family on the ground floor of a badly damaged building in Jabaliya refugee camp when the gunmen broke through the door at around 2 am. Wearing tactical gear and carrying assault rifles, they flooded the room with powerful headlamps, leaving him struggling to see who had entered.
"About seven people came in. They all had flashlights on them-bright white lights, extremely powerful flashlights," Al-Sheikh told Drop Site News. "With all the white light, I couldn't see who was in front of me."
The men accused him of being associated with Hamas' military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and demanded to know where he had hidden weapons and explosives.
"I'm a peaceful citizen. I don't have anything," Al-Sheikh recalled telling them.
When he asked for permission to put on some clothes, the gunmen grabbed him and began beating him. Three men punched and slapped him while his wife and children watched. Two days later, bruises remained visible on his neck and back.
"I couldn't process what was happening and didn't know what to do," he said. "Three of them came at me, punching and slapping me and beating me. They beat me in the most brutal ways."
Children Threatened As Gunmen Ransack Home
The attackers tied Al-Sheikh's hands behind his back and left him on the floor. When his brother-in-law entered from a neighbouring room to plead for mercy, the gunmen seized him by the hair, threw him down and beat him with their rifle butts.
A second brother-in-law, Hossam Tafesh, was also assaulted. The men found a black T-shirt among his belongings and accused him of being part of the resistance. When Tafesh denied the allegation, they beat him again and wrapped the shirt tightly around his face until he began to suffocate.
Another brother-in-law, Muatasim Al-Aja, was bound and gagged.
As the men searched the house, they overturned the family's few belongings and confiscated the mobile phones they found. The violence unfolded in front of Al-Sheikh's young children, one of whom began repeatedly slapping himself while crying for his father.
"One of my children was inside the room while this was happening and he started slapping himself. He's a little boy, a very young child," Al-Sheikh said.
"He kept slapping himself across the face, crying, 'Dad, Dad, Dad! Where's my dad?' The officer told my wife, 'Either you shut the children up-all of you be quiet-or I'll shoot them all and kill them.'"
Al-Sheikh later learnt from eyewitnesses that nearly 30 armed men had surrounded the building from outside.
"It was as if an entire battalion had come to fight us," he said.
The gunmen eventually made Al-Sheikh and his two brothers-in-law face a mobile phone camera. The apparent leader photographed them and sent the images over WhatsApp. Minutes later, after receiving a phone call, he announced that the three men could leave.
But the raid was not over. Gunmen had gone upstairs and found a third brother-in-law, Said Okasha, hiding on the roof. They beat him and took him away in his underwear.
"They started beating him. We could hear the blows and the screaming. He was shouting, 'Leave me! Leave me!' They restrained him and took him away in his underwear," Al-Sheikh said. "They took him and left."
Two other residents separately confirmed to Drop Site News that a Palestinian militia had carried out a raid in the area that night.
Militias Add To Fear Along Gaza's Yellow Line
The incident highlights the dangers facing Palestinians living close to the so-called yellow line, the boundary marking the Israeli military's area of control under the ceasefire agreement that took effect in October 2025.
Israeli-backed Palestinian armed groups have increasingly operated in these areas, carrying out raids, detaining residents and intimidating families already struggling to survive amid widespread destruction and shortages.
A general view of a concrete block marking the "Yellow Line" drawn by the Israeli military in Bureij, central Gaza Strip (AFP)
Israeli forces have continued to bomb, shell and shoot Palestinians on the western side of the boundary, despite the ceasefire. According to the report, more than 1,500 men, women and children have been killed in Israeli attacks over the past 12 months.
The Israeli military has also armed and equipped several Palestinian militias operating in Gaza. Large-scale raids are sometimes coordinated with Israeli forces, which provide artillery and aerial support, according to the report.
Some militia leaders who emerged during the war have criminal backgrounds, links to jihadist groups or previous associations with Palestinian Authority security forces. At least five such militias operate from compounds in areas under Israeli military control, satellite imagery and online videos indicate.
For residents, the threat is not limited to sudden raids. The Israeli military has steadily expanded its control beyond the original yellow line, pushing displaced Palestinians into an increasingly restricted area.
Displaced Families Face Hunger And Attacks
Al-Sheikh and his family have been sheltering near the Jabaliya Services Club, a Palestinian sports facility established in the 1950s by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
Israeli forces destroyed the club during the war and briefly used it as a military barracks and interrogation centre during their ground invasion of Jabaliya in October 2024. After the ceasefire, displaced families began seeking shelter in and around the damaged complex.
The surrounding landscape has been reduced to rubble, with ruined buildings and mounds of debris replacing what was once a densely populated neighbourhood. Israeli military positions are visible in the distance, near the yellow line.
Residents describe severe shortages of food, water and basic services, alongside the constant threat of Israeli fire and militia raids.
"Water trucks can't reach us, so we have to walk a long distance to get water," local resident Safaa Al-Basyouni told Drop Site News. "No food from charity kitchens reaches us at all. Shrapnel from Israeli fire falls around us. So we face danger from the Israelis, and on top of that, danger from the militias."
Arafat Ali, another displaced resident at the sports club, said armed groups could surround an area without warning, sometimes using quadcopters before opening fire and entering homes.
"The militias are constantly around here, and we're afraid of them. Suddenly, you find them surrounding the area with quadcopters, opening fire at us, and storming inside," he said.
Ali described the attacks as unpredictable, with gunmen frequently arriving during the night.
"We don't even understand how they operate. Suddenly, they open fire at us, fire shells, take young men captive, and then leave," he said. "They don't come during the day. They come at three in the morning, like bandits."
There is no reliable figure for the number of Palestinians detained by these militias. Okasha, who was taken during the raid on Al-Sheikh's family, is believed to be among those held in Israeli detention facilities, where the report says torture and abuse are systemic.
Israeli Forces Push Further Into Gaza
The original yellow line, established under the October 2025 ceasefire agreement, placed 53 per cent of Gaza under Israeli control, according to Israeli military maps. Since then, Israeli forces have expanded their presence to nearly 70 per cent of the enclave.
In some locations, yellow concrete blocks mark the boundary. Elsewhere, the line remains invisible, leaving residents uncertain about how close Israeli troops may be.
On October 11, Israeli forces moved further into Shujaiya, an eastern Gaza City neighbourhood that was once densely populated. Displaced families sheltering there woke to gunfire and shelling as troops moved the yellow blocks around 200 metres further into the area, triggering fresh panic and displacement.
"The yellow line used to be approximately 200 meters away from us. This morning, it was only 10 meters away," 50-year-old Osama Mushtaha told Drop Site News.
Families spent the day gathering mattresses, bags and whatever belongings they could carry before fleeing again in search of shelter.