The Media Line: Israel Assassinates Hamas Military Chief Izz al-Din al-Haddad in Gaza City  

Israel Assassinates Hamas Military Chief Izz al-Din al-Haddad in Gaza City  

By The Media Line Staff  

Israel’s military announced Saturday that it had killed Izz al-Din al-Haddad, identified as the chief of Hamas’ military wing, in what it described as a targeted strike in Gaza City against a senior figure involved in directing combat operations and rebuilding Hamas military capabilities. Al-Haddad was the most senior Hamas leader killed since the ceasefire was declared last October.  

According to the military, the strike targeted al-Haddad in Gaza City. Reuters reported that his wife and daughter were also killed in the attack.  

In a statement Saturday, the IDF said that despite ceasefire provisions calling for Hamas to disarm, al-Haddad had recently “acted to rebuild the capabilities of the terrorist organization’s military wing and to plan numerous terror attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops.”  

AFP photographs showed mourners carrying al-Haddad’s body on a stretcher wrapped in a Hamas flag through the ruins of a damaged building.  

The military said that over the past two weeks it had also two Hamas members involved in the October 7 invasion. They were identified as Iyad Muhammad Al-Matouq and Khaled Muhammad Salem Jouda.   

Separately, Hamas leadership elections ended without a final result, prompting plans for another round of voting, Ynet reported. No candidate secured victory in the first round of voting between Khalil al-Hayya and Khaled Mashal, the two leading contenders for leadership of the organization.