IDF and Shin Bet say Mohammad Yazouri, Hamas’ Khan Younis Brigade commander, killed in al-Mawasi after surviving earlier attempts on his life, including a 2021 strike while alongside Yahya and Mohammed SinwarA senior Hamas commander in the Gaza Strip was killed in an Israeli airstrike Thursday, the IDF and Shin Bet security agency said Friday.Muhammad Yazouri, commander of Hamas’ Khan Younis Brigade, was killed in an airstrike in al-Mawasi, a coastal area west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the military and Shin Bet said in a joint statement. They said the strike was carried out in the sector under his command. Palestinian reports also identified him by the nom de guerre Abu al-Haytham.Israeli strike on Hamas’ Khan Younis Brigade commander Muhammad Yazouri (Video: IDF)According to the statement, Yazouri was appointed brigade commander after serving in a series of senior positions within the Khan Younis Brigade, including deputy brigade commander, commander of its combat support battalion and head of the brigade’s intelligence department.“As part of his role, Muhammad Yazouri was responsible for managing the activities of the brigade’s terrorists and directing them to carry out attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians,” the military and Shin Bet said.They said that in recent months, Yazouri had worked to advance dozens of planned attacks against Israeli forces and sought to rebuild the Khan Younis Brigade’s capabilities after the unit sustained heavy losses during the war.The military and Shin Bet said a Hamas company commander and another member of the Khan Younis Brigade were also killed in Thursday’s strike.GalleryMohammad al-YazouriHamas sources told the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat that Yazouri was not immediately identified because of difficulties identifying his body. According to the report, his associates began investigating whether he had been the target of the strike after losing contact with him.Yazouri took command of the Khan Younis Brigade shortly after the killings of senior Hamas commanders Izz al-Din al-Haddad and Mohammed Odeh, according to the report.Arab media reports said Yazouri had also held other leadership positions for years in the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing. Those roles included leading an intelligence apparatus that the reports said was involved in preparations for the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.Yazouri had survived several previous Israeli attempts to kill him, both during the current war and in earlier years, according to the reports.One of the most significant came in 2021, when Yazouri was reportedly with Yahya Sinwar, then Hamas’ leader in Gaza, and Sinwar’s brother Mohammed during an Israeli attempt to target them.Col. Yonatan Steinberg (Photo: IDF)Yazouri's killing came amid a renewed series of Israeli attacks in the Khan Younis area. On Thursday, the IDF said it had killed Ismail Ibrahim Darwish Kandil, a member of Hamas’ elite Nukhba force who it said participated in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and in the killing of Col. Yonatan Steinberg, commander of the Nahal Brigade. The military said Kandil had recently been working to rebuild Hamas’ capabilities and plan attacks against Israeli troops and civilians.Israel has continued carrying out targeted strikes in Gaza under the U.S.-backed ceasefire that took effect in October 2025, saying Hamas terrorists have continued to plan attacks and rebuild military infrastructure. Hamas has accused Israel of repeatedly violating the truce. Large-scale fighting has largely stopped, but Israeli strikes and other violence have continued as negotiations over a permanent settlement remain stalled.