Israel says strike targeted the last senior Hamas leader involved in Oct. 7

Democracy Dies in Darkness By Lior Soroka Israel carried out an airstrike in the Gaza Strip on Friday targeting Izz-al-Din al-Haddad, the commander of the militant wing of Hamas inside Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz For months, al-Haddad, relatively little known before the war in Gaza, has remained the final living senior Hamas leader involved in planning the attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel said. Israel has systematically killed the top leadership of Hamas in Gaza. Neither side has said whether al-Haddad was killed in Friday’s strike. “There are initial indications that the strike against Izz a-Din al-Haddad was successful,” said an Israeli security official. Another official said a damage assessment was still pending. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity to share sensitive details. Hamas did not respond to requests for comment. The Israeli strike hit an apartment in the Al-Moataz residential building in the Remal neighborhood, in western Gaza City, according to Palestinian media outlets. Civil defense teams in Gaza were working to contain a fire that broke out in the building following the strike, Palestinian Civil Defense said in a statement. A vehicle near the building also appeared to have been hit. Since the first stage of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire took effect in October, Israel has continued to carry out strikes in Gaza, which remains in large part reduced to rubble. Both sides accuse the other of ceasefire violations. “Haddad was responsible for the murder, kidnapping, and harm of thousands of Israeli citizens and IDF soldiers,” Netanyahu and Katz said in a joint statement. “In recent months Izz al-Din al-Haddad has blatantly violated the existing ceasefire by working to restore the capabilities of the terrorist organization’s military wing,” one of the Israeli officials said. In July 2024, Israel killed Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif and political chief Ismail Haniyeh. Two months later, Israel killed Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the Oct. 7 attack. Last May, an Israeli strike on the European Hospital complex in Gaza killed Mohammed Sinwar, Yahya Sinwar’s brother and successor. Progress on Trump’s 20-point plan for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip remains slow or stalled. Netanyahu Nickolay Mladenov, the Gaza envoy for the U.S.-led Board of Peace, But he said that Hamas could not continue to exist as a military force “alongside transitional Palestinian authorities.” Hamas disarmament remains a major sticking point in talks. Hamas has said it would not discuss giving up arms until Israel fulfilled obligations under the first phase of the ceasefire. _Hazem Balousha and Siham Shamalakh contributed to this report._ 2Comments Related Articles Gerry Shih , Claire Parker and Hazem Balousha 8 Palestinian factions meet to shape Gaza’s future – including Hamas November 2, 2025 Susannah George and Sammy Westfall What to know about the Gaza ceasefire deal October 9, 2025 Gerry Shih , Ari Flanzraich and Hazem Balousha Hamas reasserts control on streets of Gaza, turning guns on its rivals October 15, 2025 Claire Parker , Abbie Cheeseman and Heba Farouk Mahfouz Gaza ceasefire talks begin in Egypt, as Israel strikes enclave October 6, 2025 Frances Vinall , Hazem Balousha , Victoria Bisset and Lior Soroka Who is Mohammed Sinwar, the Hamas military figure Israel says it killed? May 31, 2025 * Claire Parker , Siham Shamalakh and Heba Farouk Mahfouz Under growing Arab pressure, Hamas signals new willingness to compromise August 20, 2025 View 3 more storiesView 3 more stories ad