IDF Says It Killed Three Hamas Operatives in Weekend Gaza Strikes, Including Two October 7 Infiltrators

The IDF and Shin Bet said Sunday, September 20, 2026 that they killed three Hamas operatives in strikes across the Gaza Strip over the weekend: Yahya Hamdouna, a Hamas member who invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, killed Saturday; Mohammad Rafa'i, a member of Hamas's Daraj-Tuffah Battalion who also invaded Israel on October 7; and Basir al-Barsh, a Nukhba Force commander killed in a strike in the northern Jabalia refugee camp area. Palestinian media separately identified al-Barsh as the son of Munir al-Bursh, director-general of Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry. The IDF and Shin Bet said in a joint statement that all three had been 'advancing attacks on troops and Israeli civilians, and acting to restore Hamas's capabilities, in systematic violation of the ceasefire,' and were killed 'to remove the threat.' The strikes followed a Thursday, September 17 strike in Khan Younis that killed Hamas commander Muhammad Suleiman Byouk, another October 7 participant.