Israel kills Hamas armed wing leader Haddad in Gaza strike

CAIRO - An Israeli air strike on Gaza killed the chief of Hamas’ military wing, the most senior official from the Palestinian militant group killed by Israel since an October US-backed ceasefire agreement that was meant to halt fighting.

The Israeli military said on May 16 that Izz al-Din al-Haddad was killed in what it described as a precise strike on Gaza City the day before. Israel has repeatedly carried out strikes on Gaza since the ceasefire started.

Hamas confirmed in a later statement that Haddad, who was born in 1970, was killed along with his wife and daughter. It described him as a central figure in directing combat operations and accused Israel of trying to achieve politically through killings what it had failed to achieve militarily.

At Al Aqsa Martyrs mosque in central Gaza, a joint funeral was held on May 16 for Haddad, his wife and 19-year-old daughter.

Israel carried out at least two attacks on Gaza on May 15, killing seven Palestinians, including three women and a child, according to local medics.

A Palestinian source said Haddad was killed in an Israeli strike on an apartment building.

Casualties mount despite ceasefire

Some 850 Palestinians have ​been killed in Israeli strikes since the ​October ceasefire, according to figures that ⁠do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

Four Israeli soldiers were killed by militants during the same period. Hamas does not disclose figures for casualties among its fighters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a joint statement with his defence minister on May 16, announced that the military had targeted Haddad. The statement said Haddad was an architect of the Oct 7, 2023, attacks that precipitated Israel’s assault on Gaza.

Haddad, who became the group’s military chief in Gaza after Israel’s killing of Mohammad Sinwar in May 2025, “was responsible for the murder, abduction and harm inflicted on thousands of Israeli civilians (and) soldiers”, they said.

In a joint statement with his defence minister on May 15, announcing the military had targeted Haddad, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Haddad was an architect of the Oct 7, 2023 attacks that precipitated Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza.

Nicknamed ‘the Ghost’, Haddad had survived multiple assassination attempts by Israel, according to Hamas sources.

Israel’s military says that he was one of Hamas’ longest-serving commanders, rising through the ranks from the group’s early establishment in the 1980s to hold several senior positions.

Israel and Hamas remain deadlocked in indirect talks to advance US President Donald Trump’s post-war plan for Gaza that is meant to end more than two years of fighting.

Israel has escalated its attacks in Gaza in the ​weeks since halting its joint bombing with the US in Iran, redirecting its fire back on the ruined Palestinian territory, where the military says that Hamas fighters are tightening their grip. REUTERS