Hamas reported on Sunday that a senior commander who helped plan and direct the October 7, 2023, assault on Israel had been killed in an Israeli airstrike, a death the Israeli military confirmed.
Samir Abu Younis, 53, commander of the Rafah brigade, was killed on Saturday, the Palestinian militant group’s armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said.
The Israeli military said Abu Younis had been killed in an overnight strike in the southern Gaza Strip, noting that he had led the Rafah brigade since his predecessor, Nael Abu Obeid, was killed on September 15.
Medics said Abu Younis was killed and other people were wounded when an airstrike hit him on a street in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Hamas said Abu Younis joined the group’s armed wing in 1991 and held a series of senior operational posts in Rafah before taking command of the brigade.
His funeral will be held on Sunday afternoon in Khan Younis, Hamas said.
A ceasefire reached in October 2025 halted the major fighting in the Israel-Gaza war, but it has not ended Israeli attacks or secured the disarmament of Hamas.
Gaza health authorities say at least 1,600 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire took effect, while five Israeli soldiers have been killed.
Palestinian authorities say more than 74,000 people have been killed in the military campaign Israel launched against Gaza after Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel in the October 7 attack.
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