Hamas confirms killing of senior military commander in Israeli airstrike

GAZA, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) - Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), confirmed on Sunday the killing of one of its senior commanders in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip.

In a statement, the Brigades mourned Samir Mahmoud Abu Younis, 53, a member of its General Military Council and commander of the Rafah Brigade, saying he was killed overnight between Saturday and Sunday in what it described as an "assassination."

According to the statement, Abu Younis, a member of the first generation of the Al-Qassam Brigades, joined the group in 1991. He had previously been imprisoned in Israeli jails.

The statement said Abu Younis had played a key role in planning and overseeing the Oct. 7 attack.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army said in a press statement, "Overnight Saturday, the IDF and ISA struck in the southern Gaza Strip and eliminated the terrorist Samir Mahmoud Hassan Abu Younis, commander of the Rafah Brigade in Hamas' military wing."

The army added that 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."

Palestinian local and medical sources had earlier said that Abu Younis was killed in an airstrike targeting a tent in the al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis.