Hamas Military Chief Al-Haddad Killed in Gaza Strike, Confirmed
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Saturday that Friday’s airstrike in Gaza killed Izz al-Din al-Haddad, leader of Hamas’s military wing and described by Israel as “one of the last surviving architects” of the 7 October 2023 attacks, the Associated Press reported. Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem confirmed the killing. Al-Haddad had assumed command of the Hamas military council following the killing of his predecessor Mohammed Sinwar. The 7 October attacks killed around 1,200 people in southern Israel and saw more than 250 taken hostage.
The strike hit a residential building and a car in the Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City, killing at least seven people including three women and a child, according to local reports. The Palestinian Mujahideen Movement and its military wing issued a joint statement calling it a “cowardly assassination” that will not “weaken the resolve” of the resistance. The Gaza ceasefire remains fragile: more than 850 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since the October ceasefire took effect, with the top diplomat overseeing it saying it has “stalled” over the deadlock on Hamas disarmament. The killing closes a sequence of senior-Hamas military removals; the question for Gaza is whether the command vacuum produces de-escalation or fragmentation.