The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced on Sunday the death of Samir Abu Yunis, a member of its general military council and commander of the Rafah Brigade, in an Israeli assassination operation on Saturday evening in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis.
اضافة اعلان
In a statement, the group said: "With the highest tributes of dignity and confidence in God's near victory, the Al-Qassam Brigades announce the martyrdom of the great commander Samir Mahmoud Abu Yunis, a member of the general military council and commander of the Rafah Brigade, who died on Saturday evening in a cowardly assassination, having completed a blessed path of jihad and sacrifice."
The statement added: "Our martyr was among the early generation of Al-Qassam. He joined the Al-Qassam Brigades in 1991, was detained in enemy prisons, and took part in many special operations and in confronting enemy incursions. He was one of the active leaders during the Al-Aqsa Intifada. He rose through leadership positions in the Rafah Brigade until he commanded the Western Battalion, succeeding the late commander Mahmoud Hamdan, and then led the Rafah Brigade, succeeding the late commander Nael Abu Obeid. He was one of the most important commanders involved in planning and overseeing the 7 October attack."
For its part, the Israeli army announced on Sunday that its forces had targeted a prominent leader in the military wing of Hamas. In a statement issued early on Sunday, it said: "Shortly before, the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet security service targeted a prominent terrorist in Hamas's military wing."
Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for the Civil Defence in Gaza, said the agency had received the body of Abu Yunis, who was 53, and that two people were injured in the strike, which took place in southern Gaza.
