The Israeli military and Hamas have confirmed that the commander of Hamas's armed forces was killed in an airstrike in Gaza City last Friday, May 16, 2026 GMT+7.
On 16 May 2026 GMT+7, the Israeli military and Hamas confirmed that Ezzedine Al-Haddad, commander of Hamas's armed forces and identified by Israel as one of the planners of the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip the previous day.
Since Hamas launched its attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Israeli military and intelligence units have conducted intensive operations targeting high-level political leaders and commanders of Hamas's armed wing throughout Gaza and the surrounding region.
Last Friday, the Israeli military disclosed it had carried out an airstrike in the Gaza Strip targeting Al-Haddad before confirming his death on Saturday.
"The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Internal Security Agency (ISA or Shin Bet) announce that yesterday, a precise operation in Gaza City successfully eliminated the terrorist Ezzedine Al-Haddad," the Israeli military said in a statement.
Meanwhile, two senior Hamas officials told AFP that Al-Haddad was killed in the Israeli attack. "Senior commander Ezzedine Al-Haddad was assassinated in an Israeli strike targeting residential apartments and civilian vehicles in Gaza City yesterday," they said.
A Hamas source indicated that Al-Haddad died alongside his wife and daughter.
The Israeli military described Al-Haddad as "one of the last senior commanders of Hamas's armed forces responsible for orchestrating, planning, and executing the mass killings on October 7, and involved in holding Israeli hostages during the war."
"Al-Haddad managed Hamas's hostage detention system and often surrounded himself with hostages to try to prevent being targeted," the Israeli military added.
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Source:cna