Israel kills the Hamas commander who ran Rafah, a year into a ceasefire that has not stopped the strikes
Hamas's armed wing says Samir Abu Younis, 53, the commander of its Rafah brigade who helped plan the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, was killed by an Israeli strike on Saturday in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis. Israel's military confirmed on Sunday that it had struck a senior commander of Hamas's armed wing, without naming him.
Live updates
- 10.50am AWSTLatest
Hamas sets the funeral for Sunday afternoon in Khan Younis; medics say others were wounded in the strike.
- Sunday
Israel's military confirms it struck a senior commander of Hamas's armed wing, without naming him.
- Sunday
Hamas's armed wing names Samir Abu Younis, Rafah brigade commander, as killed in Saturday's strike.
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Three things to know
- Abu Younis led Hamas's fighters in Rafah, the southern city on the Egyptian border, and had been in the armed wing since 1991, Hamas says.
- The strike hit a street in Mawasi, the coastal strip where hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans shelter; medics say others were wounded.
- Gaza's health authorities say at least 1,600 Palestinians have been killed since the October 2025 ceasefire began; five Israeli soldiers have been killed in the same period.
The man who led Hamas’s fighters in Rafah is dead. The Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, said on Sunday that Samir Abu Younis, the 53-year-old commander of its Rafah brigade, was killed in an Israeli airstrike the day before.
Medics in Gaza said the strike targeted him in a street in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis, in the south of the territory, and wounded others. Israel’s military said it had struck a senior commander in Hamas’s armed wing but did not name him.
Hamas said Abu Younis helped plan and oversee the 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed. He joined the armed wing in 1991 and held senior operational roles in Rafah before taking command of the brigade. His funeral was set for Sunday afternoon in Khan Younis.
Why does this matter now?
The October 2025 ceasefire stopped the large-scale fighting. It did not stop the killing, and it has not secured Hamas’s disarmament, one of the central unresolved questions of the truce. Gaza’s health authorities say at least 1,600 Palestinians have been killed since it took effect. Five Israeli soldiers have died in the same period.
The strike shows Israel is still targeting Hamas’s military command while the truce holds. Hamas had not said how it would respond at the time of writing.
Why is Mawasi significant?
Mawasi is the sandy coastal strip Israel designated as a humanitarian zone during the war, and it remains crowded with tents and displaced families. Strikes there carry a high risk to civilians.
What is the wider picture?
The strike comes as Israel’s own politics are in flux after an election that left Benjamin Netanyahu with the most seats but no majority. Netanyahu now argues only a unity government can guarantee Israel’s security. The European Union has called for immediate humanitarian access to Gaza after UN agencies were blocked. Palestinian authorities say more than 74,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began.
VNN will update this story as more is confirmed.
How we got here
The key moments that brought this story into focus. Open any moment for detail.
7 October 2023Hamas-led attack on Israel
About 1,200 people are killed in southern Israel and the Gaza war begins.
October 2025Ceasefire
Large-scale fighting stops; disarmament of Hamas remains unresolved.
14 November 2026Strike in Mawasi
An Israeli strike kills Samir Abu Younis in Khan Younis.
15 November 2026Both sides confirm
Hamas names Abu Younis; Israel confirms striking a senior commander.
What happens next
Hamas's response and whether it treats the killing as a breach of the ceasefire are the immediate questions. Talks on disarmament and Gaza's future remain stalled, and Israel's coalition negotiations after its election are still under way.
Sources
- VNN
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