Israel has assassinated one of the senior Hamas commanders behind the October 7 attacks in a targeted strike in Gaza.
Samir Abu Younis helped to plan and oversee the October 7 attacks in 2023 which saw nearly 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage, triggering the latest conflict in the region.
The newly appointed commander of the Rafah Brigade died in a targeted attack on a refugee camp in Al-Mawasi in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday.
Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades military wing confirmed his death and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have said ‘steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians’ when planning the strike, which included ‘the use of precision munitions and aerial surveillance’.
Nearly 75,000 people have been killed in Palestine since the conflict started, with 64,000 children killed or injured in Gaza according to Unicef.
Four missiles are said to have struck a tent in the Al-Waha camp which sheltered hundreds of displaced Palestinians and led to a fire breaking out, according to witnesses.
Three injured people and a dead body are reported to have subsequently arrived at Nasser hospital.
Israel has previously said it maintains the right to occasionally strike Hamas militants following a brief ceasefire agreement last October.
Hamas commander Samir Abu Younis died in an Israeli attack on a refugee camp in Al-Mawasi in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday
Samir Abu Younis helped to plan and oversee the October 7 attacks and had been recently appointed commander of the Rafah Brigade
Grandchildren of Samir Abu Younis, a senior Hamas commander who was killed in an Israeli airstrike, according to medics, react during his funeral, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip
A wind turbine that generates electricity using scrap materials seen at a camp for displaced Palestinians in Khan Yunis
Younis had been commander of the Rafah Brigade for two months, following the death of the previous commander in September, Nael Abu Obeid, but had held other senior positions beforehand since joining Hamas’s armed wing in 1991.
The IDF wrote on their Telegram: ‘In his position, Samir Abu Younis directed the brigade’s terrorists to advance and carry out terror attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops.
‘Additionally, he worked to restore the force buildup of the brigade and the Hamas terrorist organization, which suffered severe damage throughout the war.’
The military added in a post on X: ‘The terrorist was eliminated in order to remove the threat he posed.’
Israel’s security agency, the Isa, assisted in the attack.
Al-Qassam Brigades, who are the military wing of Hamas, described Younis on Telegram as ‘one of the most important commanders involved in planning and overseeing the 7 October attack’.
He had also ‘participated in numerous high-profile operations and resisted enemy incursions’ and the organisation called his killing a ‘cowardly assassination’.
Hamas confirmed a funeral will be held for the commander on Sunday afternoon in Khan Younis.