Hamas has confirmed that Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the head of its armed wing in Gaza, was killed in an Israeli strike, marking the most senior Hamas military death since a U.S.-backed ceasefire took effect in October.
In a statement on Saturday, Hamas condemned what it called Israel’s “treacherous and cowardly assassination” of al-Haddad, who led the Qassam Brigades. The group said he was killed on Friday evening along with his wife, daughter and other civilians in strikes on the Remal neighbourhood west of Gaza City.
Israel’s military said al-Haddad was killed in what it described as a precise strike in Gaza City. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said he was one of the architects of the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel. The Israeli military said al-Haddad became Hamas’s military chief in Gaza after the killing of Mohammad Sinwar in May 2025.
Medical sources in Gaza said Israeli strikes in Remal killed several Palestinians, including three people in a strike on a civilian vehicle and four others in a strike on a building. Al Jazeera reported that women and a baby were among those killed, while dozens of people were wounded as fire engulfed a residential building.
Hamas said the killing was another breach of the Gaza ceasefire and accused Israel of continuing its attacks on civilians. The Palestinian Mujahideen Movement and its armed wing also mourned al-Haddad, praising his role in the armed struggle against Israel.
Israel has continued to target senior Hamas figures despite the ceasefire, arguing that such operations are necessary to dismantle the group’s military command. Hamas and Gaza-based groups say the attacks show the truce has become largely nominal.
Last December, Israel killed senior Hamas commander Raed Saad, who was described as al-Haddad’s deputy, in a strike that wounded at least 25 people. Since the October ceasefire, Gaza’s Health Ministry says hundreds of Palestinians have been killed and thousands wounded in Israeli attacks.
Al-Haddad’s death is likely to be a major blow to Hamas’s military command in Gaza, but it also risks further straining a ceasefire already weakened by repeated Israeli strikes, Palestinian casualties and mutual accusations of violations.
