Byouk’s death follows a joint operation by the IDF and Shin Bet on Tuesday, which killed Hamas’s Rafah Brigade commander, Nael Abu Obeid, in a southern Gaza strike, the military said at the time.
The IDF killed a Hamas commander, Muhammad Suleiman Byouk, who infiltrated Israel during the October 7 attacks, the military confirmed on Saturday.
Byouk was killed in an IDF strike on the Khan Yunis area in the Gaza Strip on Thursday.
According to the IDF, Byouk spent much of the war planting explosive devices across Gaza targeting Israeli soldiers.
He further planned and advanced terror attacks aimed at Israeli soldiers and civilians and also worked to rehabilitate the Hamas terror organization, the IDF added, noting the action as a “systematic violation of the ceasefire.”
Rubble from a collapsed building fills the site in the Al-Sinaa area of western Gaza City, Gaza Strip, on September 16, 2026; Illustrative. (credit: Eyad Azam / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)
IDF kills senior Hamas Rafah Brigade commander
Byouk’s death follows a joint operation by the IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) on Tuesday, which killed Hamas’s Rafah Brigade commander, Nael Abu Obeid, in a southern Gaza strike, the military said at the time.
According to the IDF, Abu Obeid was a key Hamas leader who previously served as deputy commander of the Rafah Brigade and commander of the Tel al-Sultan and Yibna Battalions.
He replaced the previous Rafah Brigade commander, Mohammad Shabanah, who was killed by the IDF in May 2025.
Abu Obeid directed terror attacks and offensives against Israeli soldiers during his time as Rafah Brigade commander.
Also on Tuesday, the IDF said it killed Hamas’s Jabaliya Battalion commander, Ahmad Batash, in a northern Gaza strike on Monday in a joint operation with the Shin Bet.
Batash was responsible for managing logistics for the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades Northern Gaza Brigade and was an integral part of supplying weapons and equipment to Hamas terrorists in the region.
Amir Bohbot contributed to this report.