IDF: 'senior' Hamas terrorist targeted in Gaza - The Times of Israel

Key updates

Dozens of masked settlers attacked Palestinians harvesting olives in southern West Bank Saturday

Dozens of masked Israeli settlers from an illegal outpost, riding on the back of a pickup truck and in another car, launched an attack on Palestinians harvesting olives in the southern West Bank yesterday, according to footage and the military.

The IDF says troops and Border Police officers were dispatched to an area near the Palestinian village of Sa’ir following reports of “confrontations” between Israelis and Palestinians during an olive harvest.

A Palestinian car was vandalized in the area, and the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that at least five Palestinians were injured.

The army says the troops acted to disperse the Israeli rioters and “imposed a closed military zone order in the area to restore order,” while allowing the Palestinians to continue the harvest.

Some time later, the army says it received reports and footage showing “dozens of masked Israeli rioters arriving in vehicles in the same area,” and again dispatched troops to the scene. However, the settlers had fled before the troops arrived, the military says.

According to the IDF, en route to the area, the troops spotted two suspicious vehicles and opened fire into the air. The IDF says the two cars then fled to a nearby illegal settler outpost.

“An inspection found that one of the vehicles, which bore a Palestinian license plate, was apparently stolen,” the military says.

The IDF says it “strongly condemns” the Israeli attackers, saying that “such incidents divert the forces’ attention, undermine stability, and harm the operational and counterterrorism activities of the security forces.”

#شاهد| مستوطنون يعتدون على المزارعين في أراضي بلدة بيت فجار جنوب بيت لحم. pic.twitter.com/mjosOT0H9o

— شبكة فلسطين للحوار (@paldf) November 14, 2026

Iran’s IRGC says it attacked US radar system at a base in Bahrain

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says its forces carried out a drone attack on a US radar system at a base in Bahrain, according to a statement carried by the Iranian state broadcaster.

“The US air defense radar system at the Al-Riffa helicopter base in Bahrain was targeted by six drones belonging to the IRGC Aerospace Force,” the IRGC says in a statement posted by the state broadcaster on Telegram.

Hamas confirms Rafah Brigade commander Samir Abu Younis killed in Israeli strike overnight

The commander of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip overnight, the terror group confirms.

Shortly after midnight, the military said it had struck a senior commander in Hamas’s military wing in the Khan Younis area, with further details to be provided later.

Hamas’s military wing announces that Samir Abu Younis, also known as Abu Mahmoud, the latest commander of its Rafah Brigade, was killed in the strike.

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 in September. 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, says 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 IDF has not yet confirmed that Abu Younis was killed.

The strike comes 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.

Saudi-led coalition says it destroyed two Houthi ballistic missiles targeting Riyadh

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis says that it has intercepted two ballistic missiles launched by the group towards the Saudi capital Riyadh.

Saudi civil defense had issued an alert warning of potential danger in Riyadh before announcing that the threat had passed.

Transportation Ministry reps to visit Dubai Sunday for briefing on flydubai attack probe

A delegation of representatives from Israel’s Transportation Ministry will depart for the United Arab Emirates later today to meet with local security and aviation officials in light of the attack aboard flydubai Flight FZ1073 in September, Hebrew media reports.

The delegation, led by Transportation Ministry director general Moshe Ben Zaken, will be briefed on the investigation into the September 30 attack before meeting with senior officials at Dubai International Airport.

The discussions with the airport officials will focus on preparations to reopen the Tel Aviv-Dubai flight route for international airlines, and on the possibility of Israeli airlines resuming flights to the Gulf state, Channel 13 reports.

Following the delegation’s visit, the Transportation Ministry will decide whether to allow flydubai to restart its flights to Israel.

The airline was barred from flying to Israel after the Omani copilot aboard Flight FZ1073 attacked the captain, Smit Machchhar, and attempted to crash the aircraft.

The plane plunged thousands of feet before several Israeli passengers burst into the cockpit, whose door Machchhar had managed to open, immobilized the terrorist copilot and initially stabilized the plane.

Two off-duty pilots aboard the flight then took over the controls and made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia before a replacement aircraft returned passengers to Tel Aviv.

Machchhar was seriously injured in the attack by the copilot, Hamam al-Hammami, who struck him in the back of the head with an emergency axe.

Haaretz photojournalist said assaulted by right-wing activists at protest outside Eisenkot’s home

Haaretz photojournalist Itai Ron was attacked by right-wing activists while covering a protest outside the home of Yashar chair Gadi Eisenkot in Herzliya tonight, the newspaper reports.

According to Haaretz, Ron was beaten and called a “traitor” by some of the roughly 50 activists at the demonstration. The report adds that police officers witnessed the incident and did not intervene.

The Israel Police denies that its officers witnessed the attack, saying that Ron had “approached the on-site unit commander, claiming to have been assaulted.”

“The officers asked him to identify those involved, but he failed to cooperate and left the scene,” the statement continues. “If there is suspicion that a criminal offense has been committed, a complaint can be filed with the police, which will be examined accordingly.”

IDF says ‘senior terrorist in Hamas’s military wing’ targeted in Gaza strike

The IDF and Shin Bet announce in a joint statement that a “senior terrorist in Hamas’s military wing” was targeted in a strike a short while ago.

“Details to follow,” the brief statement adds.

Hamas sources tell Reuters that the strike targeted and killed Hamas commander Samir Abu Younis in Khan Younis, although this has not been confirmed by Israel.

Abu Younis was commander of the Rafah brigade in Hamas’ armed wing, the sources say.

Medics say Abu Younis was killed and others were wounded in an airstrike that targeted him in a street in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

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