TEL AVIV, Israel — An Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed the head of Hamas’ military wing on Friday, removing one of the last surviving architects of the October 7, 2023 attacks that ignited the region’s deadliest war in decades, the Israeli military and the militant group each confirmed on Saturday.
Izz al-Din al-Haddad was killed in the strike, Israel’s army said, describing him as a senior Hamas military commander who directed the planning and execution of the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people and saw more than 250 taken hostage. A Hamas spokesperson, Hazem Qassem, confirmed the killing on social media.
Al-Haddad had assumed leadership of Hamas’ military wing after his predecessor, Mohammed Sinwar, was killed, the army said. Israeli officials characterized al-Haddad as having surrounded himself with Israeli hostages during the fighting, using them as shields against attack. The Israeli army chief of staff called the operation a significant blow and said Israel would continue pursuing those it holds responsible for the October 7 attacks.
The strike also killed six other people, al-Haddad’s family told The Associated Press, including his wife and daughter. His two sons were killed earlier in the war. Mourners wrapped al-Haddad’s body in Hamas and Palestinian flags during Saturday’s funeral procession in Gaza City.
Al-Haddad joined Hamas when it was founded in the 1980s and rose to membership in both the Qassam Brigades’ Majd section — a unit tasked with rooting out collaborators with Israel — and Hamas’ military council, the highest command group that played a central role in planning the 2023 attack.
The killing comes as the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas remains in a precarious state. The agreement, which took effect in October 2025, has been plagued by mutual accusations of violations. The top diplomat overseeing the truce said negotiations have stalled because of the deadlock over disarming Hamas. Gaza has experienced near-daily Israeli fire since the ceasefire began. More than 850 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory during the truce period, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government but is staffed by medical professionals whose detailed records are viewed as generally reliable by the international community. The ministry says Israel’s retaliatory operations over the course of the war have killed more than 72,700 people.
Violence in the occupied West Bank
In the occupied West Bank, Israeli troops shot and killed a 34-year-old Palestinian man, Hassan Fayyad, in the Jenin refugee camp on Saturday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The Palestinian Red Crescent said Fayyad was fatally struck in the thigh. Israel’s military said the man had been attempting to infiltrate the camp and that troops fired warning shots before shooting him when he did not comply. The army said it provided medical treatment while transferring him to a hospital.
The Jenin killing follows an incident two days earlier in which Israeli forces shot and killed a 15-year-old boy in the Nablus-area town of Eastern Lubban, according to Palestinian health officials. The Israeli military said troops identified three individuals throwing rocks at Israeli vehicles in a manner it described as endangering lives, and fired at them, killing one.
On Friday, settlers set fire to a mosque and multiple vehicles in the village of Jibiya, northwest of Ramallah, Palestinian religious authorities said. The head of Jibiya’s municipal council, Sabir Shalash, said security-camera footage showed individuals pouring flammable material on the mosque and at least two vehicles, and that spray-painted Hebrew slogans were found on the mosque’s walls.
The Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs called the Jibiya attack “a cowardly terrorist act” and criticized what it described as the international community’s inaction over mounting Jewish settler attacks on Muslim and Christian holy sites in the occupied territories. The Israeli military and police said they deployed to the area but did not locate suspects, and were investigating. The army said it “strongly condemns” attacks on religious institutions.