Hamas' armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, has announced the death of one of its senior commanders, Samir Mahmoud Abu Younis, following an Israeli military strike in southern Gaza. Abu Younis, who served as the commander of the group's Rafah brigade and was a member of its General Military Council, was killed in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis.
The Israeli military previously stated that it had conducted a strike in coordination with the Shin Bet security agency targeting a senior member of Hamas' armed wing, though the individual was not identified in their initial announcement. Local medical reports from the Nasser Medical Complex confirmed that an Israeli drone strike in Al-Mawasi resulted in the death of one Palestinian and left two others wounded.
Abu Younis had taken command of the Rafah brigade following the death of his predecessor, Nael Abu Obeid, who was killed in an Israeli strike in Khan Younis on September 15. Furthermore, a medical source at Al-Shifa Hospital reported that a separate Israeli drone strike killed two Palestinians and wounded three others in Al-Saftawi, located in northern Gaza, just one day prior to the Al-Mawasi incident.
Since the onset of the conflict in October 2023, Israel's military operations have resulted in the deaths of over 74,000 Palestinians and left more than 176,000 others wounded, with the majority of casualties reported as women and children. The ongoing war has caused widespread destruction, with approximately 90 percent of Gaza's infrastructure damaged and the entire population displaced. The United Nations has estimated the cost of reconstruction at approximately $71.4 billion. Since a ceasefire agreement took effect on October 20, 2025, Israel has been accused of continued violations, resulting in at least 1,643 additional Palestinian deaths and 5,964 injuries.
