Israeli military says it struck senior member of Hamas military wing

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said on Sunday (Nov 15) its forces had struck a senior militant from Hamas's military wing, which confirmed the death of one of its commanders in Gaza.

Samir Abu Younis, a military leader who played a key role in planning Hamas's Oct 7, 2023 attack on Israel, was killed on Saturday, according to a statement from the Islamist movement's Al-Qassam Brigade.

"A short while ago, the IDF and ISA struck a senior terrorist in Hamas' military wing," the Israeli military said in a joint statement with internal security agency Shin Bet, in the early hours of Sunday morning.

It did not elaborate but said it would later provide further details.

"He was killed yesterday evening ... in a cowardly assassination operation," the Al-Qassam Brigade posted on Telegram, adding Younis was "among the most important commanders involved in the planning and supervision of the Oct 7 attack".

A security source told AFP shortly after midnight that Younis, the commander of Al-Qassam's Rafah Brigade, died in a strike "targeting him moments ago in Al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis."

Gaza's civil defence spokesman, Mahmoud Bassal, told AFP the agency had received the body of Younis, 53, and said two people were wounded in the strike in Gaza's south.

Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the ceasefire that came into effect in October 2025, after two years of war triggered by the Oct 7 attack.

While the US-backed ceasefire has largely subdued the fighting, Israel has kept up regular strikes in the territory.

More than 1,600 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the ceasefire, according to the Gaza health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

During the same period, the Israeli military has reported the loss of seven soldiers, as well as one civilian contractor.

Israel's former army chief Gadi Eisenkot is currently locked in negotiations to form a governing coalition while his rival, caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, remains responsible for military operations.