Israel confirmed on Saturday that Hamas armed wing chief Ezzedine Al-Haddad was killed in an airstrike in Gaza City a day earlier, marking another major blow against the militant group’s senior leadership. Hamas officials also confirmed his death, saying the commander was killed alongside members of his family in a strike targeting a residential area.
The Israeli military said al-Haddad had played a central role in planning and executing the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel and was among the last remaining senior commanders of Hamas’s military wing. According to the Israel Defence Forces and the Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency, Haddad was also involved in overseeing the captivity of Israeli hostages held in Gaza during the war.
The Israeli military described the operation as a “significant operational achievement,” saying the names of Haddad and other Hamas commanders repeatedly surfaced in testimonies from released hostages. Israel has spent months targeting Hamas leaders in Gaza and across the region following the October 7 attack, in which more than 1,200 people were killed in Israel, and 251 hostages were abducted, triggering the ongoing war.
The killing comes as violence continues despite an October ceasefire agreement that has repeatedly come under strain. Gaza’s health ministry says more than 72,700 people have been killed since the beginning of Israel’s military campaign, and the United Nations considers the figures broadly reliable. Israel, meanwhile, says Hamas and allied militant groups continue to operate across parts of the territory and accuse the group of repeatedly violating the truce.
