Israeli Strike Kills Hamas Military Wing Head Izz Al-Din Al-Haddad In Gaza

Israel’s military said it killed Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the head of Hamas’ military wing, in an Israeli strike on Friday in the Gaza Strip, and Hamas confirmed his death.

“Hamas has confirmed the killing of Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the head of the armed wing of the Palestinian group in Gaza, in an Israeli attack a day earlier”

Al Jazeera

The Straight Arrow News account says the Israeli Air Force struck around the structure after an airstrike hit a building in Gaza, and it adds that CNN reported Israel struck a residential building in a neighborhood near Gaza City on Friday afternoon.

Al Jazeera

Straight Arrow News also reports that Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital director Mohammed Abu Salmiya told the outlet the medical complex received the bodies of three women and a child from the strikes, and that Palestine Red Crescent Society paramedics took almost 30 wounded patients to Al-Saraya Field Hospital.

The Jerusalem Post quotes IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir describing the operation as a “significant operational achievement,” and it says Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement that Haddad had been targeted.

Multiple outlets tie the strike to the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, with Straight Arrow News saying Israel alleged al-Haddad was one of the senior commanders involved in those attacks where 1,200 Israelis were killed and 250 were taken hostage.

Al Jazeera says Hamas condemned Israel’s “treacherous and cowardly assassination” of al-Haddad, and it reports that Hamas said al-Haddad was killed along with his wife, his daughter, and other Palestinian civilians on Friday evening.

Al Jazeera also reports that the Israeli strikes targeted the Remal neighbourhood west of Gaza City, and it says three Palestinians were killed in a strike on a civilian vehicle and four others died in a strike on a building, with medical sources cited.

France 24

The Jerusalem Post frames the killing as a message of pursuit, quoting Zamir: “Today, we succeeded in eliminating him,” and it adds that he said the IDF would continue to pursue enemies, strike them, and hold accountable everyone who took part in the October 7 massacre.

Straight Arrow News reports that local media reported a funeral procession for al-Haddad in Gaza City on Saturday, and it says his family told the AP he died in a strike Friday as well as six other people, including his wife and daughter.

The Washington Post describes Israel’s characterization of Haddad as one of the last surviving senior commanders behind the Oct. 7, 2023 attack, while also noting that Israel’s military said he was killed Friday in a strike inside Gaza and Hamas confirmed the death.

Straight Arrow News says that despite a ceasefire agreement announced in October, Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that Israeli forces have killed more than 850 people in Palestinian territory in almost daily attacks, and it adds that since the war started more than 72,700 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes.

“Israeli strike kills Hamas’ military wing leader, who Israel says was an architect of Oct”

Inquirer

Los Angeles Times links the strike to the ceasefire’s fragility, saying Gaza endures almost daily attacks despite a ceasefire and that the Gaza Health Ministry reported more than 850 people killed in the Palestinian territory since the ceasefire went into effect in October.

Al Jazeera says Hamas described al-Haddad’s killing as the latest Israeli breach of the Gaza “ceasefire” agreement and as part of “ongoing aggression against innocent civilians,” while it says such attacks reaffirm “the criminal and fascist nature” of Israel.

The Jerusalem Post says Netanyahu and Israel Katz’s joint statement asserted that Haddad refused to implement the agreement led by US President Trump to disarm Hamas and demilitarize the Gaza Strip, and it says the IDF and Shin Bet are implementing a policy of not containing threats and defeating enemies ahead of time.

Straight Arrow News also places the violence beyond Gaza, reporting that Israeli troops shot and killed a 34-year-old Palestinian, Hassan Fayyad, in the Jenin refugee camp, and that it followed an earlier report of Israeli troops shooting and killing a 15-year-old boy in Eastern Lubban town in Nablus.