Israel says it has killed a senior Hamas commander linked to the planning and execution of the October 7 attacks in a targeted strike in Gaza.
Samir Abu Younis, 53, was involved in organising and overseeing the 2023 assault, in which almost 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage. The attack triggered the latest war in the region.
Abu Younis had been appointed commander of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade two months ago. He was killed yesterday in an attack on a refugee camp in Al-Mawasi, in southern Gaza.
Hamas’s military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, confirmed his death. The Israel Defense Forces said it had taken “steps to mitigate harm to civilians” while planning the strike, including “the use of precision munitions and aerial surveillance”.
Almost 75,000 people have been killed in Palestine since the conflict began, while 64,000 children in Gaza have been killed or injured, according to Unicef.
Witnesses said four missiles struck a tent in the Al-Waha camp, which was sheltering hundreds of displaced Palestinians. The attack reportedly started a fire.
Three injured people and the body of one person were later taken to Nasser Hospital.
Other reporters, however, said an airstrike hit Abu Younis as he was walking along a street in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis.
Hamas commander Samir Abu Younis died in an Israeli attack on a refugee camp in Al-Mawasi in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday
Samir Abu Younis helped plan and oversee the October 7 attacks and had recently been appointed commander of the Rafah Brigade
Grandchildren of Samir Abu Younis, a senior Hamas commander who was killed in an Israeli airstrike, according to medics, react during his funeral at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip
A wind turbine generating electricity from scrap materials at a camp for displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis
Israel has previously said it retains the right to carry out occasional strikes against Hamas militants after a brief ceasefire agreement last October. Al-Mawasi is designated as a humanitarian zone.
At least 1,600 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire, which ended the major fighting, according to health officials in Gaza. Five IDF soldiers have also died during the same period.
Abu Younis had led the Rafah Brigade for two months after his predecessor, Nael Abu Obeid, was killed in September. He had held other senior roles since joining Hamas’s armed wing in 1991.
The IDF said on Telegram: “In his position, Samir Abu Younis directed the brigade’s terrorists to advance and carry out terror attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops.
“Additionally, he worked to restore the force buildup of the brigade and the Hamas terrorist organization, which suffered severe damage throughout the war.”
The military added in a post on X: “The terrorist was eliminated in order to remove the threat he posed.”
Israel’s security agency, the ISA, also assisted with the operation.
The Al-Qassam Brigades described Abu Younis on Telegram as “one of the most important commanders involved in planning and overseeing the 7 October attack”.
The group said he had also “participated in numerous high-profile operations and resisted enemy incursions”, and condemned his killing as a “cowardly assassination”.
Hamas said the commander’s funeral would take place on Sunday afternoon in Khan Younis.
Meanwhile, many displaced people in Gaza have been battling severe flooding. Heavy rain has damaged tents that have become homes for thousands of refugees.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health said 11 people had died from the cold this winter, including a nine-month-old baby who died of hypothermia.