Israel confirmed Saturday the killing of Izz al-Din al-Haddad, head of Hamas’s Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the militant group’s military wing, in a precision airstrike in Gaza City.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) said the joint operation struck al-Haddad’s hideout apartment in the Rimal neighborhood, with a second strike on a fleeing vehicle. Seven people were killed and more than 50 wounded, according to Gaza emergency services. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem confirmed al-Haddad’s death.
🔴ELIMINATED: Izz al-Din al-Haddad, Head of Hamas’ military wing and one of the last senior commanders involved in the planning of the October 7 massacre.
Following the elimination of Mohammed Sinwar, Haddad assumed his role and worked to rebuild Hamas’ capabilities and planned… pic.twitter.com/6TW7Wewt7m
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 16, 2026
The operation stemmed from a breakdown in al-Haddad’s own operational security. Defense establishment sources told Walla that al-Haddad, long confined to underground tunnels, began surfacing during the ceasefire when Israeli intelligence attention shifted to Iran and Lebanon. Military Intelligence identified the new patterns and flagged targeting opportunities for senior officials. The IDF said the strike was approved by the political echelon approximately 10 days before execution.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement that al-Haddad was “one of the architects” of the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks that killed approximately 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir called it “a significant operational success” and vowed to pursue every perpetrator of the October 7 massacre.
Al-Haddad, known as “the Ghost of al-Qassam,” assumed command of the Qassam Brigades after Mohammed Sinwar’s killing in May 2025. He was among the last surviving senior commanders involved in directing the October 7 assault.
The IDF said he had been working to rebuild Hamas’s military capabilities and block the disarmament provisions of the US-brokered ceasefire. On Thursday, ceasefire envoy Nickolay Mladenov said Hamas’s disarmament remained a “key hurdle.”
More than 850 people have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
