Hamas says military chief died after Israel targeted him

Hamas’s armed wing chief Ezzedine Al-Haddad was killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza the previous day, the Israeli military and Hamas confirmed on Saturday.

The Israeli military and intelligence services have waged an extensive campaign targeting the group’s senior political leaders and commanders in Gaza and across the region.

On Friday, the Israeli military said it had carried out an airstrike in Gaza targeting Haddad and confirmed his death on Saturday.

“The IDF and the ISA announce that yesterday, in a precise strike in the area of the City of Gaza, Ezzedine Al-Haddad was eliminated,” the military said, referring to itself and the Shin Bet domestic security agency.

Two Hamas officials also told AFP that Haddad had been killed in an Israeli strike.

“Senior commander… Ezzedine Al-Haddad was assassinated in an Israeli strike targeting a residential apartment and a civilian vehicle in Gaza yesterday,” one senior Hamas official said.

A member of Hamas’s armed wing separately confirmed his death.

Haddad was killed along with his wife and a daughter, according to another Hamas source.

AFP photographs showed mourners carrying the body of Haddad, wrapped in a Hamas flag, on a stretcher from the ruins of a building.

The military claims Haddad was “one of the last senior commanders in Hamas’s military wing who directed the planning and execution of the October 7th massacre”.

“Haddad managed Hamas’s hostage captivity system and surrounded himself with hostages in an attempt to prevent his elimination,” it said.

‘Significant achievement’

Israel’s military chief Lieutenant Colonel Eyal Zamir called the killing a “significant operational achievement”.

Over the course of the war, Israel has claimed responsibility for the assassinations of several Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar.

It also killed Mohammed Deif, the longtime commander of Hamas’s armed wing.

Israeli strikes have also targeted Hamas operatives in Lebanon, as well as senior Hezbollah commanders allied with the group, including former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 72,700 civilians, according to the territory’s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority.

The figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

Despite an October ceasefire, Gaza remains gripped by daily violence as Israeli strikes continue.

At least 856 Palestinians have been killed since the truce began, according to the territory’s health ministry.

Over the same period, the Israeli military said five soldiers have been killed in Gaza.