The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet internal security service killed Nael Abu Obeid, commander of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade, in a strike in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the two bodies said in a joint statement. Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the death that evening, writing on X that the IDF and ISA had “eliminated this evening the commander of the Rafah Brigade, who promoted terror plots against our forces.”
🔴 ELIMINATED: Nael Abu Obeid, Commander of Hamas’ Rafah Brigade and Head of Hamas’ Military Wing Operations Array.
Abu Obeid was a key figure among Hamas׳ senior leadership. He was responsible for managing the activities of the brigade’s terrorists and directing them to advance… https://t.co/n4o4IVWevS pic.twitter.com/DRvjc7vfYk
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 15, 2026
Palestinian medical staff described a different scene. An airstrike on a tent encampment in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis killed a man and an 8-year-old girl and wounded 14 people, they said. Neither side stated whether the two accounts describe the same strike.
Abu Obeid also served as head of Hamas’s military wing operations array, the IDF said, a role coordinating activity across the group’s armed formations. He previously commanded the Tel al-Shultan and Yibna battalions and served as the brigade’s deputy commander before taking the top post. The military said he “played an operational role” in commanding forces during the October 7, 2023 assault and that he worked to rebuild the brigade “which suffered severe damage throughout the war.”
Abu Obeid took command after Israel killed Muhammad Shabana in May 2025, the IDF said. Shabana himself had led the brigade since 2014, when he replaced Raed al-Atar, who was also killed by Israel.
Days before Tuesday’s strike, Israel killed Moamen Jabr Al-Sayed Abu Labda, whom it identified as head of a Rafah Brigade sniper cell. The pattern marks one of the most persistent command-level attrition campaigns against a single Hamas formation in the war.
The strike lands during the truce that took effect in October 2025. Israel says its targeted killings answer Hamas efforts to rebuild forces “in systematic violation of the ceasefire.” Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry has recorded more than 1,300 Palestinian deaths from Israeli fire since the ceasefire began. Israel says four of its soldiers have been killed in the same period.
Katz and Netanyahu tied the strike to earlier killings this week, including that of Khan Younis Brigade commander Muhammad Yazouri. “No terrorist is immune, and Hamas will not be in Gaza,” Netanyahu wrote on X.
The US-backed plan to end the war calls for Hamas to disarm in exchange for a phased Israeli withdrawal. Netanyahu has rejected pulling back until Hamas fully gives up its weapons. Hamas says it accepts the framework but ties progress to withdrawal and future governance terms. Hamas sources have since confirmed Abu Obeid’s status as a senior armed commander within the group.