The Israeli army assassinated Muhammad al-Yazouri, known as “Abu al-Haytham,” the commander of the Khan Yunis Brigade in the “Al-Qassam Brigades,” the armed wing of the Hamas movement, after a drone targeted him with two missiles while he was walking in the Al-Mawasi area at midnight Thursday - Friday.
The attack occurred on a main road in Mawasi Khan Yunis in the south of the Gaza Strip, specifically near the Al-Qubba Mosque, and targeted two people, including Al-Yazouri.
Asharq Al-Awsat learned from field sources in Hamas that Al-Yazouri was not quickly identified, as he was in pieces, and his body was mutilated, including his face. The sources indicated that the sudden loss of contact with him prompted some of those close to him to try to find out whether he was the target, and it became clear in the early hours of the morning that he was among the victims.
According to two sources, Al-Yazouri took charge of the Khan Yunis Brigade in the “Al-Qassam Brigades” shortly after the assassination of the brigades’ leaders, Izz al-Din al-Haddad and Muhammad Odeh, who were assassinated no more than ten days apart last May.
The two sources indicated that Al-Yazouri was commander of the center and west of Khan Yunis, before becoming general commander of the brigade.
Al-Yazuri also worked for years in other positions under the leadership of the “Al-Qassam Brigades,” including leadership of the intelligence service, which was one of the agencies that worked to prepare security information in preparation for the attack of October 7, 2023.
The two sources indicated that after the assassination of Rafi Salama, another leader was appointed in charge of the Khan Yunis Brigade, before he became the commander of another operational pillar in the Supreme Staff in the Gaza Strip, while Al-Yazouri later became the new commander of the brigade.
A third source pointed out that Al-Yazouri had been subjected to a series of previous assassination attempts, whether during the current war or years before it, as he was considered a prominent field commander at the time.
The source revealed that one of the most prominent assassination attempts against Al-Yazouri occurred when he was accompanied by Rafi Salama, Muhammad Al-Sinwar, and Yahya Al-Sinwar in a central tunnel in Khan Yunis in 2021. Israeli warplanes bombed him with several missiles, during what was known as the “Saif Al-Quds” battle, which Israel called “The Guardian of the Walls.”
Then everyone who was in the tunnel survived after the bombing targeted part of it, which allowed those leaders to get out of it, while some of them were injured to varying degrees, including Rafi Salama.
Al-Yazouri is considered one of the leaders who supervised the October 7 attack, and he also played a role in the handover of kidnapped Israelis during exchange deals.
Accompanied by Al-Yazouri, in the raid that targeted him last night, Hudhayfah Abu Muammar, one of the engineers in the Al-Qassam Brigades, who was responsible for developing the military capabilities of the brigades, and was close to its prominent leaders, was killed.
Abu Muammar is a resident of the “Ma’an” area, east of Khan Yunis, and was responsible for a number of attacks targeting Israeli forces during the war and in other periods.
The sources suggested that Israel launched the raid with the aim of targeting Abu Muammar, expecting that it did not have accurate information about the presence of Al-Yazuri with him when they were walking in the place, which is a matter that has not been resolved yet.
In another raid at the same time, Mumin Abu Libda was killed after a vehicle was bombed in Hamad Town, north of Khan Yunis. Asharq Al-Awsat learned that the target was a field commander for the Al-Qassam Brigades east of Rafah, and had been subjected to previous assassination attempts.
