Samir Abu-Younes assassinated in Gaza, Reuters reports

Reuters – citing sources within Hamas – reported the assassination of Samir Abu-Younes, who had recently assumed command of the Rafah Brigade of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, in an Israeli airstrike in the city of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military announced that it targeted a senior commander within Hamas’s military wing, though it did not disclose the identity in its statement.

Sources within the movement confirmed to Reuters that Abu-Younes was killed in the strike.

Samir Abu-Younes had emerged as the new commander of the al-Qassam Brigades’ Rafah Brigade, succeeding Nael Abu-Obeid, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in September.

According to Palestinian media reports, Abu-Younes took on this leadership role during a period marked by ongoing Israeli targeting of military commanders in the southern Gaza Strip.