Hamas Says Gaza Strike Killed Chief of Its Military Wing
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a joint statement with his defence minister yesterday that Haddad had been targeted, but stopped short of saying he had been killed.
One of Hamas’s highest-ranking figures is reported dead after Israel said it struck him in an air attack, marking what would be the most senior killing of a Hamas official since the October US-backed ceasefire deal intended to stop the war in Gaza.
In Gaza City, witnesses said mosques had announced the death of Izz al-Din al-Haddad.
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If confirmed, he would be the most senior Hamas official killed by Israel since the ceasefire agreement reached in October with US backing, which was supposed to bring the fighting in Gaza to a halt.
Hamas has not formally confirmed Haddad’s death.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a joint statement with his defence minister yesterday that Haddad had been targeted, but stopped short of saying he had been killed.
Mr Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz described Haddad as a key planner of the 7 October 2023 attacks carried out by Hamas militants, which triggered Israel’s continuing military campaign in Gaza.
Haddad, who took over as the group’s military chief in Gaza after Israel killed Mohammad Sinwar in May 2025, “was responsible for the murder, abduction, and harm inflicted on thousands of Israeli civilians (and) soldiers,” they said.
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Israel and Hamas are still at an impasse in indirect negotiations over moving forward with US President Donald Trump’s post-war plan for Gaza, which is intended to bring more than two years of conflict to an end.
Medics in Gaza yesterday said that at least seven people, including three women and a child, were killed and at least 50 injured in air strikes that hit an apartment and a vehicle. It remains unclear whether Haddad was among those killed.
Israel has intensified its attacks on Gaza in the weeks since ending its joint bombing campaign with the US in Iran, shifting its focus back to the devastated Palestinian territory, where the military says Hamas fighters are tightening their control.
