An Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip on Friday targeted the leader of Hamas’ military wing, Israeli officials said, but it was not immediately clear whether Izz al-Din al-Haddad was killed or injured.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said an airstrike carried out by the military Friday evening targeted al-Haddad, who they described as the leader of Hamas’ Qassam brigades. Hamas did not immediately acknowledge or comment on the strike, according to the report.
The attack occurred against a backdrop of near-daily Israeli fire in Gaza despite a fragile ceasefire agreement reached in October. More than 850 people have been killed since then, Gaza Health Ministry officials said; the ministry is part of Gaza’s Hamas-run government, though it is staffed by medical professionals who maintain and publish records viewed as generally reliable by the international community.
Israeli officials described al-Haddad as linked to the Oct. 7 assault. In a statement, Netanyahu and Katz said al-Haddad was “one of the architects” of the Oct. 7 attack, in which militants killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. They also warned that Israel would continue working against those involved, adding, “Sooner or later, Israel will reach you.”
The report said there were at least two Israeli strikes Friday evening in Gaza City. One strike targeted a residential building and another targeted a vehicle, the Israeli side said, and casualties were taken to the Palestine Red Crescent Society’s Saraya Field Hospital and Shifa hospital.
Health officials reported that the strikes killed seven people and wounded dozens more. Palestinian citizens reported additional airstrikes after the one that targeted al-Haddad, though it was not immediately clear what those follow-on strikes were targeting.
Since the shaky ceasefire, both Israel and Hamas have traded accusations of violations. Israel has targeted Hamas members inside the coastal enclave, the report said, including what it described as the last of those members to be the son of Hamas’ lead negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya.