Hamas chief in Gaza Izz al-Din al-Haddad killed in Israeli strike, IDF confirms

The IDF in a statement confirms the killing of Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip and chief of the terror group’s military wing, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, in an airstrike last night.

Haddad, “one of the architects of the brutal October 7 massacre,” was targeted in a “precise strike” in Gaza City, the military says.

He took over the role of military chief and leader of Hamas in Gaza following the killing of Mohammed Sinwar in May 2025.

Recently, the military says, Haddad “worked to rebuild the capabilities of the terrorist organization’s military wing and to plan numerous terror attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops.”

“Throughout the war, Haddad was involved in the holding of many Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity. Haddad managed Hamas’s hostage captivity system and surrounded himself with hostages in an attempt to prevent his elimination,” the IDF says.

He is one of the longest-serving commanders in Hamas, after joining the terror group in its infancy. The IDF says he “maintained close ties with Hamas leadership” and played a “central role in Hamas’s terrorist rule” over the Strip.

Haddad previously served as chief of Hamas’s Gaza City Brigade, and is one of the last senior commanders “who directed the planning and execution of the October 7 massacre and the management of combat operations against IDF troops,” the IDF adds.