Chief of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade killed in Israeli strike, 2 months after predecessor

The latest commander of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip overnight between Saturday and Sunday, the terror group and the Israeli military said, two months after his predecessor was eliminated. Hamas said he was a key planner of the October 7, 2023 massacre.

Shortly after midnight, the Israel Defense Forces launched a strike on the top Hamas commander as he was walking down a street in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. The strike reportedly wounded several others.

The IDF said it took steps to minimize harm to civilians in the strike, “including the use of precision munitions and aerial surveillance.”

Hamas’s military wing announced that Samir Abu Younis, also known as Abu Mahmoud, the commander of its Rafah Brigade, was killed in the strike. The IDF and Shin Bet security agency also confirmed that Abu Younis was eliminated.

While the IDF controls all of Rafah, the terror group still appoints commanders for the regional brigade, while operating from the nearby Khan Younis area.

Abu Younis had taken over the Rafah Brigade following the killing of the previous commander, Nael Abu Obeid, by Israel on September 15.

A strike targets Hamas Rafah Brigade commander Samir Abu Younis, in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, November 15, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

Abu Obeid was already the second Rafah Brigade commander during the war, following the killing of the previous chief, Muhammad Shabana, on May 13, 2025, in a strike on a hospital that also killed Hamas leader Mohammad Sinwar.

Hamas, in a statement, said that Abu Younis was a veteran commander in the Al-Qassam Brigades, joining the terror group’s military wing in 1991, rising through the ranks, and was “one of the key commanders involved in planning and overseeing the October 7 attack.”

The military and Shin Bet said that Abu Younis had previously held “a series of positions in the brigade, including deputy commander of the Rafah Brigade and commander of the Tel Sultan Battalion,” calling him a “key figure among senior Hamas members.”

The IDF said Abu Younis directed his brigade’s terrorists to carry out attacks on Israeli civilians and troops. “Additionally, he worked to restore the force buildup of the brigade and the Hamas terror organization,” the army added.

The strike came after, on Thursday, the IDF carried out a strike on Nasser Hospital complex in Khan Younis, aimed at the commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade, Muhammad Abu Ismail.

There has yet to be any confirmation from the IDF or Hamas that Abu Ismail was killed in the strike.

Israel in recent months has increasingly targeted operatives in Gaza, including numerous terrorists who took part in the October 7 assault, saying they posed a threat to Israeli forces.

According to the military, many of the recent strikes have focused on Hamas operatives involved in building up the terror group’s force and civil control mechanisms in the Strip.

Implementation of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza has stalled, with Hamas refusing to disarm and Israel refusing to withdraw from any part of Gaza until that condition is met.