IDF says ‘key’ Hamas terrorist killed in southern Gaza airstrike last week

A “key terrorist” in Hamas’s Rafah Brigade was killed in an airstrike in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis last week, the military announces.

According to the IDF, the strike on August 9 killed Nasser Musa, who served as the head of Hamas’s “control department.”

As part of his role, the military says Musa was responsible for the “readiness and exercises of the terrorists in the brigade.” He held additional roles in the Rafah Brigade, including in the unit’s intelligence and surveillance arrays, the IDF says.

According to the military, Musa was a close associate of Muhammad Shabana, the commander of the Rafah Brigade, who was killed alongside top Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar in May.

Meanwhile, the IDF says fighter jets hit a building in Khan Younis yesterday that was used by terror operatives to store rockets. The IDF publishes footage of the strike.

פעילות כוחות צה״ל ברצועת עזה: חוסל מחבל מרכזי בחטיבת רפיח של ארגון הטרור חמאס

צה״ל ושב"כ תקפו וחיסלו ב-9 באוגוסט 2025 במרחב חאן יונס, בהובלת פיקוד הדרום, את נאצר מוסא, מחבל מרכזי בחטיבת רפיח ששימש כראש מחלקת הבקרה הצבאית של ארגון הטרור חמאס.

המחבל היה אחראי על כשירות ואימוני… pic.twitter.com/MBHz457lOy

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) August 15, 2025

Ground operations also continue in Gaza. The IDF says the 36th Division killed a cell of operatives in Khan Younis; the Gaza Division destroyed dozens of military infrastructures and directed strikes on operatives in Rafah; and the 99th Division continued defensive operations in the Strip’s north, during which several operatives were killed and tunnel shafts were destroyed.