From the Liveblog of
Thursday, July 17, 2025
IDF airs newly discovered photos of Hamas’s de facto leader in Gaza, says he ‘disguised his identity’
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleEmanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The IDF publishes new photos of Hamas’s de facto leader in the Gaza Strip, Izz al-Din Haddad, saying that the terror commander “disguised his identity.”
Haddad is the commander of Hamas’s Gaza City Brigade, and following the death of Muhammad Sinwar in May he became the new head of the terror group in the Strip.
The photos of Haddad were found by troops in a Hamas tunnel underneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis, where Sinwar was killed, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Col. Avichay Adraee, says on X.
“The drastic change in his appearance, as shown in the photo, indicates only one thing: deep fear and a desire to disguise and disappear,” Adraee says.
“While Hamas promotes the narrative of ‘famine’ to the world, it seems that Haddad remained safe from it, far from the hunger and suffering experienced by the residents of the Strip,” he continues.
#خاص هكذا بدا عز الدين الحداد، قائد لواء مدينة غزة في حماس الإرهابية، في صورة وُجدت داخل نفق تحت المستشفى الأوروبي في خان يونس، نفقٌ كان شاهدًا على هروبه وخوفه.
التحوّل الكبير في ملامحه، كما تظهر في الصورة، لا يشي إلا بشيء واحد: خوف عميق ورغبة في التنكر والاختفاء. في الوقت الذي… pic.twitter.com/YNx5jbpG3L
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) July 17, 2025
“Haddad is the last remaining leader of the leadership that led Gaza to destruction and contributed to the collapse of the entire Iranian axis. Is it shame from the devastation left behind by Hamas that pushed him to change his face and disguise his identity?” Adraee adds.
The Times of Israel Community.