Netanyahu Says Israel Killed Hamas Military Commander Ezzedine Al-Haddad in Gaza Strike

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday, May 16 that Israel was close to eliminating all those responsible for orchestrating the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks after Israel reported the killing of senior Hamas military commander Ezzedine Al-Haddad in Gaza.

The Israeli military announced that Al-Haddad, described by Israeli officials as a top commander in Hamas’s armed wing and one of the main planners of the October 7 attacks, had been killed in an airstrike in Gaza City.

Al-Rai

The Kabul Tribune reported that an Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed Izz al-Din al-Haddad, described as the head of Hamas’ military wing, and said Hamas later confirmed Haddad’s death, adding that he was killed along with his wife and daughter.

The Kabul Tribune also said a joint funeral was held on Saturday at Al Aqsa Martyrs Mosque in central Gaza for Haddad, his wife, and their 19-year-old daughter, while local medics reported that Israeli strikes on Friday killed at least seven Palestinians, including three women and one child.

In parallel, United News of Bangladesh said Israeli officials described the Friday airstrike as targeting Izz al-Din al-Haddad, and it reported that at least two Israeli airstrikes struck Gaza City on Friday evening, killing seven people and injuring dozens more.

Netanyahu’s comments came after Israel said it had killed senior Hamas commander Ezzedine Al-Haddad in an airstrike, as its campaign against the group’s leadership continues, according to the European Conservative.

The Kabul Tribune said Israel’s military described Haddad as one of the last surviving senior commanders still operating inside Gaza, and it quoted Netanyahu and his defense minister in a joint statement saying Haddad was one of the planners of the October 7, 2023 attacks.

An-Nahar

The Kabul Tribune also reported that Hamas described Haddad as a key figure in directing combat operations and held a joint funeral at Al Aqsa Martyrs Mosque in central Gaza for Haddad, his wife, and their 19-year-old daughter.

United News of Bangladesh said Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that Israel would continue pursuing everyone involved in the Oct. 7 assault, during which Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people and abducted 251 others.

The Washington Post described the killing as a strike inside Gaza on Friday that Israel’s military said Saturday killed Izz-al-Din al-Haddad, describing him as one of the last surviving senior commanders behind the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

The Kabul Tribune said available figures show about 850 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the October ceasefire, without distinguishing between civilians and combatants, while four Israeli soldiers were reported killed by militants during the same period.

United News of Bangladesh reported that since Israel launched its military campaign in response to the attack, more than 72,700 people have reportedly been killed in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and it said the Gaza Health Ministry says more than 850 people have died since the truce began.

The European Conservative said Israel has spent months targeting Hamas’s senior leadership across Gaza and the wider region since the October 7 attacks, which it said killed around 1,200 people in Israel and saw more than 250 hostages abducted.

Thekabultribune said Israel and Hamas remain at an impasse in indirect negotiations over a U.S.-proposed post-war plan for Gaza aimed at ending more than two years of conflict, and it said Israel has intensified its strikes in recent weeks.

In a separate thread, thekabultribune reported that local medics said Israeli strikes on Friday killed at least seven Palestinians, including three women and one child, and it also said at least three more people were killed in separate Israeli airstrikes on Saturday, according to health officials.