The Al-Qassam Brigades confirmed the death of the Rafah brigade leader following a strike in Khan Younis.
Hamas' armed wing confirmed on Sunday that senior commander Samir Abu Younis was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza. The 53-year-old leader of the Al-Qassam Brigades' Rafah brigade was targeted in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis on Saturday, according to reports from Reuters and the Times of India.
Medics stated that Abu Younis died and several other people were injured when the strike hit a street in the area. While the Israeli military and Shin Bet security agency initially issued a joint statement saying they had targeted a senior Hamas military figure in a drone strike, they did not name the individual.
Abu Younis joined the Al-Qassam Brigades in 1991 and previously held various senior operational roles in Rafah. Hamas scheduled his funeral for Sunday afternoon in Khan Younis.
The strike occurred despite an October 2025 ceasefire that ended major combat but has not prevented Israeli military operations or the disarmament of Hamas. Gaza health authorities reported that at least 1,600 Palestinians have died since that ceasefire began, while five Israeli soldiers have also been killed during the same period.
Palestinian authorities stated that more than 74,000 people have been killed in the military campaign in Gaza since the October 7, 2023, attacks, which killed approximately 1,200 people in southern Israel.
