Israeli Strike Targeted Top Hamas Leader in Gaza, Officials Say

Israel-HamasCease-Fire Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the target of an Israeli strike in Gaza City, took over the group’s military wing in Gaza last year. Israeli officials said he was also an architect of the Oct. 7 attack. Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the target of an Israeli strike in Gaza City, took over the group’s military wing in Gaza last year. Israeli officials said he was also an architect of the Oct. 7 attack. A residential building damaged during an Israeli strike in Gaza City on Friday.Credit... Supported by ByAlan YuhasJonathan RosenandIyad Abuheweila The Israeli military targeted the de facto leader of Hamas in Gaza with an airstrike, the Israeli authorities announced on Friday, in what would be the most senior Hamas official Israel has tried to kill since a cease-fire began last fall. The Hamas commander targeted by Israel, Izz al-Din al-Haddad,took over the group’s military wingin Gaza last year, after Israeli forceskilled Muhammad Sinwar, the brother of Yahya Sinwar, an architect of Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. In a joint statement on Friday, Israel’s prime minister and defense minister described Mr. al-Haddad as another architect of that attack, and said that he had “refused to implement the agreement” brokered by President Trump “to disarm Hamas and demilitarize the Gaza Strip.” Hamas did not immediately respond to the claim that Mr. al-Haddad had been targeted in an attack. Mr. al-Haddad was the target of the airstrike on a building in Gaza, and the Israeli Air Force also struck around the structure in order to prevent an escape, according to two Israeli defense officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss operations in Gaza. Israeli analysts think it was likely that Mr. al-Haddad was killed inside the building, the officials said. Accounts of how many were killed and wounded in the attack differed as of Friday evening. Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the director of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, said in a text message that at least seven people were killed in the strikes on Gaza City, and 10 others were wounded. Mahmoud Basl, a spokesman for Gaza’s Civil Defense emergency service, said by phone that five people had been killed in the strikes. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit andlog intoyour Times account, orsubscribefor all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber?Log in. Want all of The Times?Subscribe. Advertisement