Israeli Airstrike Kills Hamas Qassam Brigades Leader Izz Al-Din Al-Haddad In Gaza City

An Israeli airstrike in Gaza on Friday targeted the leader of Hamas’s military wing, Israeli officials said, and it was not immediately clear if Izz al-Din al-Haddad was killed or injured.

“Despite reaching a ceasefire after a war and aggression that lasted two years against the Gaza Strip, Israel continues its policy of assassinations that have not stopped, keeping the elimination of leaders of the كتائب عز الدين القسام—the military wing of Hamas—at the top of its military objectives since 7 October 2023”

Al-Jazeera Net

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Israel Katz said an airstrike carried out by the military on Friday evening targeted al-Haddad, the leader of Hamas’s Qassam brigades.

Al-Jazeera Net

The strike hit a residential building and a vehicle in Gaza City, and health officials in the Palestine Red Crescent Society’s Saraya Field Hospital and Shifa hospital said seven people were killed and dozens more were wounded.

The Reuters account said Gaza has seen near-daily Israeli fire despite a fragile ceasefire agreement reached in October, and it reported that more than 850 people have been killed since then, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Netanyahu and Katz threatened that Israel will continue to work against all those who took part in the October 7 attack, in which militants killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.

In a televised speech delivered by Abu Ubaida, spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, he warned Israel about the consequences of continuing its aggression against the Gaza Strip.

Abu Ubaida said, "There are no red lines when it comes to retaliating against aggression," and he added that "Jerusalem is the center of the conflict" and "the trigger of uprisings."

Anadolu Ajansı

He also mourned leaders of the Al-Qassam Brigades who were martyred in Israeli attacks, stating that it was "not strange" for Brigade heroes, "led by Commander Bassem Issa (commander of the Gaza Brigade), to fall as martyrs in this battle."

The Al Jazeera Net account framed the same period as Israel continuing its policy of assassinations, saying the elimination of leaders of the كتائب عز الدين القسام—the military wing of Hamas—remained "at the top of its military objectives since 7 October 2023."

It reported that Netanyahu and Katz announced targeting عز الدين الحداد in an airstrike that hit a residential apartment and a car in حي الرمال in مدينة غزة, resulting in 7 martyrs and more than 50 injured.

L’Opinion described the "Ghost of al-Qassam" as Hamas’s third leader in seven months, saying the group appointed Izz al-Din al-Haddad to oversee operations in the Gaza Strip.

“An Israeli airstrike in Gaza on Friday targeted the leader of Hamas’s military wing, Israeli officials said, but it was not immediately clear if Izz al-Din al-Haddad was killed or injured”

BreakingNews.ie

It said Hamas, designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, entrusted control of its operations in the enclave to al-Haddad, and described his role as recruiting militia members and overseeing the captivity of Israeli hostages.

The same account tied al-Haddad to the October 7, 2023 attacks, saying he helped plan the deadly attacks and that he has many photos of hostages on his phone, according to Arab and Israeli officials, as well as a former hostage.

Meanwhile, the BreakingNews.ie report said Netanyahu and Katz threatened that Israel will continue to work against all those who took part in the October 7 attack, and it quoted their statement that "Sooner or later, Israel will reach you."

As the conflict continues, BreakingNews.ie reported that more than 72,700 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its offensive in response to Hamas’s 2023 attack, and it said the Health Ministry is part of Gaza’s Hamas-run government but staffed by medical professionals who maintain and publish detailed records.