Senior Hamas commander killed in Israeli strike in Gaza

Hamas said on Sunday that ‌a senior commander who helped plan and oversee the October 7th, 2023, attack on Israel had ​been killed in an Israeli air strike, with the Israeli military confirming his death. Samir Abu Younis (53), the commander of the Rafah brigade, was killed on Saturday, said ​the Palestinian militant group’s armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades. The Israeli military said it had ⁠killed Abu Younis in a strike in the southern Gaza Strip ‌overnight, ‌adding he had led the Rafah brigade since his predecessor, Nael Abu Obeid, was killed on September 15th.

Medics ⁠said Abu Younis was ​killed and others were wounded ​in an air strike that targeted him in a street in the Mawasi ‌area of Khan Younis in the ​southern Gaza Strip. Hamas said Abu Younis joined Hamas’s armed wing ⁠in 1991 and had held several ⁠senior operational ​roles in Rafah before becoming commander of the brigade. His funeral will be held on Sunday afternoon in Khan Younis, Hamas said. An October 2025 ceasefire halted major fighting in the Israel-Gaza war but has not stopped Israeli attacks or secured Hamas’ disarmament.

Gaza health authorities say at least 1,600 Palestinians have been killed since ‌the ceasefire went ⁠into effect, while five Israeli soldiers have been killed. Palestinian authorities say more than 74,000 people have been killed in the military ‌campaign that Israel launched against Gaza after Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people in ​southern Israel in the October 7th attack. The World Health Organisation warned on Friday of surging respiratory illnesses in Gaza, with worse expected after ‌heavy rains flooded tens of thousands of tents housing displaced Palestinians. - Reuters