Looking at the picture, a regular piece of wood should work as long as the thickness is the same. Otherwise the front will sit a bit proud if thicker, or there will be a gap if thinner. Though you could trim the dado back on the sides if it’s thicker. Edit: and make sure to measure size before trying to take it off. Just in case it breaks more.
It looks like that particle board is nailed to the face. Hopefully it isn’t glued as well, otherwise it’ll be a beast to get off. Those screws are just for the handle and likely have no structural qualities.
You could try clipping them off instead of pulling them out. Just use a flush cutter (or as close to flush) and cut them down to the wood. This is what most do when taking our trim, as it can cause more damage to get the nails/staples out.