Hamas says senior armed commander killed in Israeli strike

Hamas' armed wing said on Sunday that a senior commander who helped plan and oversee the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel had been killed in an Israeli airstrike.



The Al-Qassam Brigades identified the commander as Samir Abu Younis, 53, the commander of its Rafah brigade, and said he was killed on Saturday. The Israeli military said on Sunday it had struck a senior commander in Hamas' armed wing but did not identify him.



Medics said Abu Younis was killed and others were wounded in an airstrike that targeted him in a street in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.



Hamas said Abu Younis joined Hamas' armed wing in 1991 and had held several senior operational roles in Rafah before becoming commander of the brigade.



Hamas said his funeral would be held on Sunday afternoon in Khan Younis.



An October 2025 ceasefire halted major fighting but has not stopped Israeli attacks or secured Hamas' disarmament.



Gaza health authorities say at least 1,600 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire went into effect. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed during the same period.



Palestinian authorities say more than 74,000 people have been killed in Israel's military campaign against Gaza, launched after Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel in October 2023.