Gaza Genocideupdated 20m ago3 min read
MapIsraeli Airstrike Kills Hamas Rafah Brigade Commander Samir Abu Younis in Khan Younis
“Video footage verified by Al Jazeera and posted by Palestinian journalists from the vicinity of the hospital showed ambulances inside the grounds and stretchers that appear to be stained with blood.”
“Hamas said on Sunday that a senior commander who helped plan and oversee the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel had been killed in an Israeli airstrike, with the Israeli military confirming his death.”
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Samir Abu Younis, Rafah Brigade commander, was killed by an Israeli airstrike near Khan Younis. The strike targeted a senior Hamas military commander, Abu Younis, in southern Gaza.
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Strike Kills Abu Younis
Israeli forces killed Hamas Rafah Brigade commander Samir Abu Younis in an airstrike on the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, according to Hamas and Israeli officials. Hamas said in a statement that the person targeted was a senior member of its military wing, and Al Jazeera reported that the strike hit a tent sheltering displaced people and wounded two others. Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported that Israeli attacks have killed 16 people and injured 68 others over the past 48 hours, and it added that since the “ceasefire” in Gaza took effect on October 11, 2025, Israel has killed at least 1,643 Palestinians and injured 5,964.
An Anadolu Ajansı report said the Qassam Brigades identified Abu Yunus as a member of its General Military Council and said he was killed in an Israeli strike that targeted him west of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday evening. BBC reporting said eyewitnesses in Gaza described four missiles striking a tent in the Al-Waha camp, which shelters hundreds of displaced people in Al-Mawasi, causing a fire to break out.
Competing Claims and Injuries
Israel’s military and Shin Bet said in a joint statement that they had targeted a senior Hamas military commander in a drone strike in Khan Younis on Saturday, and BBC said the Israeli military said it had targeted him and that prior to the strike "steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians". Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades described the killing as a "cowardly assassination" and said Younis was "one of the most important commanders involved in planning and overseeing the 7 October attack," according to BBC. Medical personnel told Al Jazeera that the casualties were taken to Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, and it added that video footage verified by Al Jazeera showed ambulances inside the grounds and stretchers that appear to be stained with blood.
A medical source at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis reported three injured people had arrived there, as well as a dead body. Al Jazeera said a medical source at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis reported three injured people had arrived there, as well as a dead body.
Ceasefire, Escalation, and Fallout
Al Jazeera said Israel has repeatedly attacked the area despite previously designating it a humanitarian zone, and it reported that Israeli attacks have escalated across Gaza despite the October ceasefire. The Health Ministry reported that the number of deaths related to cold has risen to 11 after a nine-month-old baby died from hypothermia, the first this winter. Hamas’s funeral for Younis will be held on Sunday afternoon in Khan Younis, and it described Younis, 53, as having been in his position since 15 September following the death of the brigade’s previous commander, Nael Abu Obeid.
An Anadolu Ajansı report said Abu Yunus was among the most prominent leaders involved in planning and supervising the "Storm of the Al-Aqsa" operation on October 7, 2023, and it said Hamas and Palestinian factions launched an attack on Israeli military bases and settlements near Gaza that day. Since Israel began its war on Gaza in October 2023, at least 74,695 people have been killed and 176,093 injured, and it added that at least 850 bodies have been recovered from under the rubble.