A senior Hamas official confirmed this Saturday that an Israeli bombing killed Izz al-Din Haddad, leader of the armed wing of the Islamist movement in Gaza, the Reuters agency reports. The news, which Hamas has not publicly announced, comes after the Israeli government announced on Friday that it had launched an attack in the Gaza capital with the aim of eliminating Haddad, whom it described as “one of the intellectual authors” of the massacre carried out by the militia in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and kidnapping another 250, according to the Jewish state.
The bombing, which targeted a residential building and which, according to the Red Crescent, has caused 8 fatalities — including three women and a child — and 30 injured, adds to the attacks with which the Israeli army violates a ceasefire that began seven months ago, and places above 850 the number of people Israel has killed in the small Palestinian coastal strip during the supposed ceasefire.
Israeli troops have been increasing fire on the Strip since a fragile temporary ceasefire suspended the offensive it was sustaining together with the United States against Iran. At the same time, the Israeli army also strikes Lebanon daily as part of the fight against Hezbollah. A nominal ceasefire started on April 17 in the Arab country — and extended this Friday for another 45 days — has not prevented the continuation of the Israeli offensive, which has killed hundreds of people during the truce amid new eviction orders.
Haddad, who according to EFE died along with his wife and daughter and who was known as “the ghost” due to his low profile, led the military part of Hamas after Israel eliminated his predecessors, Yahya Sinwar and his brother, Mohamed, in 2025. Now, the “martyrdom” (Muslim interpretation of dying for the cause) of the commander, which mosques in the Palestinian strip announced before the British agency confirmed it, represents the assassination of the highest-ranking official of the group since the entry into force of another ceasefire of doubtful future in the Middle East.
“Recently, Haddad was working to rebuild the military capabilities of the terrorist organization [Hamas],” according to the Israeli army’s statement this Saturday, which also confirms his death. “During the war,” it adds, “he led the captivity system” of the Israeli hostages.
Haddad, who had survived previous assassination attempts, “was responsible for the murder, kidnapping, and injury of thousands of civilians and Israeli soldiers,” said the Israeli statement announcing the attack on Friday, issued jointly by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Defense Minister — and Likud party colleague — Israel Katz. “We will continue to act firmly against anyone who participated in the October 7 massacre,” the note said, blurring the ceasefire in force. “The message,” it concluded, is clear: “sooner or later, Israel will reach” those who threaten Israeli lives.
On Friday, a senior Israeli official told the country’s press on condition of anonymity that the decision was made to eliminate the militant because he “undermined” the efforts of the US and the Peace Board, a body created by Donald Trump to govern Gaza during the ceasefire, “to disarm Hamas and demilitarize Gaza.”
After securing the agreement in October and guaranteeing the rescue of the last twenty hostages still alive in Hamas hands, the Trump Administration has turned its attention to other parts of the world, leading to the collapse of the Gaza ceasefire into a dead end. Hamas refuses to comply with the disarmament demanded in the agreement without a clear horizon toward achieving a Palestinian state, while Israel, which rejects Palestinian sovereignty, bombs the territory daily and fails to meet its commitments to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, such as the entry of 200,000 tents and 60,000 temporary houses that have never arrived.
Since October 2023, Israel has killed more than 72,750 Gazans in the Strip, according to the local Ministry of Health.
