🚨Israel says it targeted Hamas’s Gaza leader Izz al-Din Haddad in Gaza City
The Israeli Air Force just targeted Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Izz al-Din Haddad, in an airstrike in Gaza City, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said.
The strike hit a residential building in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood, according to Palestinian media.
A senior Israeli security official tells reporters that there are “initial indications” that Izz al-Din al-Haddad was killed in the airstrike in Gaza City a short while ago.
Izz al-Din al-Haddad (born 1970), also known as Abu Suhaib and nicknamed the “Ghost of al-Qassam,” is a senior Hamas commander and current leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
Born in Gaza City, he joined Hamas in 1987, rising from foot soldier to brigade commander. Known for his extreme secrecy and low profile, he played a major role in the October 7, 2023 attacks.
He became Hamas’s de facto leader in Gaza in May 2025 after the deaths of top figures including Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Sinwar. He has survived multiple assassination attempts and has remained a top Israeli target.
In a joint statement, Netanyahu and Katz say they ordered the killing of Haddad, who commands the terror group’s military wing and is “one of the architects of the October 7 massacre.”
“Haddad was responsible for the murder, kidnapping and harm of thousands of Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers. He held our hostages in brutal captivity, directed terrorist operations against our forces, and refused to implement the agreement led by US President Trump to dismantle Hamas’s weapons and demilitarize the Gaza Strip,” they said.
