Muhammad Shabaneh (; died 13 May 2025), also known by his nickname Abu Anas (), was the commander of the Rafah Brigade in the military wing of

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

, the

Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades Al-Qassam Brigades, also known as the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades (EQB; ), are the military wing of the Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islamist organization Hamas. Led by Mohammed Deif until his death on 13 July 2024, Al-Qassam Brigades ar ...

. Under his command were about four battalions. It was reported that Shabaneh had a large extended family in Sinai, Egypt. In leaflets dropped by the IDF in

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

in November 2023, a bounty of $500,000 was offered for his capture. In May 2025, the IDF and

Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; , (GSS); ), better known by the Hebrew acronyms, acronyms Shabak (; ; ) or Shin Bet (from the abbreviation of , "Security Service"), is Israel's internal Security agency, security service. Its motto is "''Magen ...

claimed that de facto leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip

Mohammed Sinwar Mohammed Ibrahim Hassan al-Sinwar (; 16 September 1975 – 13 May 2025) was a Palestinian politician and militant who became the third Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, following the killing of his brother, Yahya Sinwar in October 2024. He also ...

was targeted in an Israeli airstrike on a bunker under the

Gaza European Hospital The European Hospital () is a public hospital in Al-Fukhari near Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine. It was founded by the UNRWA with a grant from the European Union in 1989. Initial construction costs for the 232-bed European Ho ...

Khan Yunis Khan Yunis (), also spelled Khan Younis or Khan Yunus, is a city in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, and serves as the capital of the Khan Yunis Governorate. It has been largely destroyed during the Gaza war. Before the 14th century, Khan Y ...

. The strike killed 26 people, according to the

Gaza Health Ministry The Gaza Health Ministry (GHM), officially the Palestinian Ministry of Health – Gaza, is responsible for managing healthcare and medical services in the Gaza Strip. The health ministry's casualty reports have received significant attention d ...

. According to the Saudi channel

Al-Hadath Al-Hadath () is a Saudi news interactive channel focusing on political events in the Arab region. It is available on the British Freeview service via the Vision TV streaming service and from 28 March 2022, it joined Al Arabiya on Freeview channe ...

, Shabaneh's body was recovered from the tunnel along with Sinwar.

Biography

Hamas

Even before his appointment as commander of the Rafah Brigade, during

Operation Cast Lead Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

on December 31, 2008, according to Palestinian reports, the IDF attacked his home in the Shabora neighborhood in

Rafah Rafah ( ) is a city in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Rafah Governorate. It is located south-west of Gaza City. In 2017, Rafah had a population of 171,889. Due to the Gaza war, about 1.4 million people from Gaza C ...

, but Shabaneh was not injured. After the death of Raed al-Attar during

Operation Protective Edge The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge (, ), and Battle of the Withered Grain (), was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory that has been governed by Hamas since ...

in 2014, Shabaneh was appointed to replace him as the commander of the Rafah Brigade. During Operation Guardian of the Walls, on May 13, 2021, the IDF bombed his home in Rafah, but Shabaneh was not harmed.

During the Gaza War

In the first two days following Hamas' surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, two of Shabaneh's sons, Abd al-Nasser and Mahmoud, who were members of the

Nukhba Force The Nukhba forces (), Nukhba Force or just (Al-)Nukhba (; ) is the special forces unit of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. The term is frequently used to refer to Hamas militants. In 2024, the usage of the word roughly ...

of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, were killed. According to Palestinian reports, on December 20, 2023, the IDF attempted to kill him by attacking the Shabaneh family home in eastern Rafah, but Mohammad Shabaneh survived unharmed. His eldest son, Anas, was also killed on May 18, 2024, in battles with the IDF in the Al-Tannur neighborhood of Rafah. On May 24, 2024, another assassination attempt was made when a tunnel containing an underground complex where he was believed to be hiding was attacked, but Shabaneh survived.

Assassination

On May 13, 2025, reports emerged that Shabaneh was killed alongside the de facto leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip,

, in an Israeli airstrike on a bunker under the

in Khan Yunis. On May 31, 2025, the IDF and Shin Bet confirmed that Shabaneh had been killed in the airstrike.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shabana, Muhammad 20th-century births Year of birth missing 2025 deaths Hamas leaders Hamas military members Assassinated Hamas members