IDF says senior Hamas figure eliminated in southern Gaza strike

In a separate operation on Thursday, Israeli fighter jets struck a building in Khan Younis used by Hamas operatives to store rockets

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that it killed a senior Hamas operative in an airstrike in southern Gaza, sharing video of the operation. According to a post on X, on 9 August 2025, the IDF and Shin Bet, coordinated by the Southern Command, targeted the Khan Younis area, killing Nasser Moussa, a senior member of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade.

According to the IDF, Moussa was in charge of Hamas’s military control department, responsible for training the brigade’s fighters and preparing them for attacks on Israeli forces and civilians.

"On August 9, 2025, the IDF and Shin Bet attacked and eliminated Nasser Musa, a key terrorist in Hamas' Rafah Brigade who served as the head of the military control department of the Hamas terrorist organisation, in the Khan Younis area, led by the Southern Command," IDF said on X.

"Moussa was a close associate of Mohammed Shabana, the commander of the Rafah Brigade who was eliminated in May 2025. He also held various roles in Hamas' Rafah Brigade, including head of military intelligence and head of the observation network. His elimination further weakens the Rafah Brigade and hampers the ability of Hamas terrorists to carry out terrorist operations against IDF forces in the area," it added.

In a separate operation on Thursday, Israeli fighter jets struck a building in Khan Younis used by Hamas operatives to store rockets.

“The 36th Division continues its offensive operations in the city of Khan Younis, where forces located and destroyed a terrorist structure and eliminated terrorist cells. Simultaneously, the Gaza Division (143) destroyed dozens of military infrastructures in the southern Gaza Strip, and with the guidance of the Fire Control Centre, several terrorists were eliminated from the air using Air Force aircraft,” the IDF said.

It also stated: “The IDF and Shin Bet will continue to operate with force against terrorist organisations in the Gaza Strip.”