Former hostage: 'Every dog has its day, and he was a bitch'

Israeli strike targets Hamas military leader Izz al-Din al-Haddad, ‘last architect of Oct. 7’

Military officials indicate Gaza City airstrike eliminated terror group’s chief; former hostages hail reports of death of the man responsible for their abduction and captivity

Israel said that it had targeted Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip and the head of the terror group’s military wing, in an airstrike in Gaza City on Friday. While there was no immediate confirmation that he was killed, news of the strike prompted a joyous response from several of the hostages he had personally held and many hailed the apparent death of the last of the major architects of the October 7, 2023, massacre.

The strike, which came amid a shaky ceasefire between Israel and the terror group, hit a residential building in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood. Footage from the scene showed a huge cloud of dust and smoke rising from the shattered, burning building.

Minutes after the airstrike, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz released a statement confirming that they had given the order to target Haddad, calling him the “commander of Hamas’s military wing and one of the principal architects of the October 7 massacre.”

“Al-Haddad was responsible for the murder, abduction, and harm inflicted upon thousands of Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers,” the statement said.

“He held our hostages in brutal captivity, orchestrated terrorist attacks against our forces, and refused to implement the agreement advanced by US President Donald Trump for Hamas’s disarmament and the demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip,” the statement said.

Hamas did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the fate of Haddad, who became the terror group’s military chief in the Gaza Strip after Israel’s killing of commander Muhammad Sinwar in May 2025.

Haddad is the most senior Hamas official targeted with a strike by Israel since an October US-backed deal that was meant to halt fighting in Gaza. The attack comes as Israel and Hamas remain deadlocked in talks to advance US President Donald Trump’s post-war plan for Gaza.

Medics in Gaza said at least three people were killed and 20 were injured in airstrikes targeting an apartment and a vehicle. It was not immediately clear if Haddad was one of the dead.

The Israeli Air Force struck a hideout apartment where Haddad was believed to be, along with a vehicle that left the location at the same time, to prevent an attempt by the Hamas leader to flee, a military source said.

Officials said three jets took part in the strike, dropping 13 bombs on the site.

A senior Israeli security official told reporters that were “initial indications” that Haddad was killed.  The military has not yet officially commented on the strike.

Every dog has its day

Nevertheless, Katz called the family of former hostage soldier Liri Albag to update them on the strike.

Albag, along with several other of the female surveillance soldiers abducted by Hamas from the Nahal Oz base on October 7th, was held in captivity by Haddad when he commanded Hamas’s Gaza City Brigade.

In a post on social media, Albag celebrated Haddad’s apparent death, writing in Arabic “Every dog has its day, and you were a real bitch.”

Speaking later to Channel 12, Albag recounted how “he held us captive, we were in his tunnels. He was one of the architects of October 7th, responsible for a lot of suffering.”

She recounted how he had widespread interaction with the hostages as he was one of the few who spoke Hebrew and was responsible for the whole area where they were kept.

“This is a really happy moment and a message to all the Hamas terrorists that their time has come and we will continue with all our power,” she said.

Another female hostage, Emily Damari, also celebrated reports of his death, thanking the security forces for killing him and calling it “a very, very, very important closing of a circle for so many people.”

“He plotted and planned the 7th [of October] and killed my friends and so many other dear people. He planned my abduction and kept me in the Hamas tunnels,” she said. “With the help of God we will reach all those garbage terrorists.”

Refused to disarm

The strike threw into question the future of the ceasefire.

A senior Israeli security official said that the strike was approved by the political echelon about a week and a half ago.

During that time, Haddad was under “continuous” surveillance, and the strike was carried out this evening “due to an operational opportunity with a high probability of successful elimination,” the official told reporters.

According to the military, Haddad was targeted by the Air Force shortly after intelligence officers at the Southern Command and Military Intelligence Directorate received information on his whereabouts.

During the war, Haddad moved between numerous hiding places, surrounding himself with many hostages, including the female surveillance soldiers, to avoid being targeted in Israeli strikes, the military source said.

In an unsourced report, Channel 12 said that Netanyahu and Katz gave the order to kill Haddad in recent days once it became clear that he posed an obstacle to efforts to coax Hamas to disarm.

Haddad is the most senior Hamas military commander in Gaza and the last remaining senior official in the terror group who led the October 7 onslaught.

The agreement reached last October halted major fighting in Gaza after two years ‌of war ⁠between Israel and Hamas. But steps have faltered to reach a permanent settlement that would withdraw Israeli troops, disarm the terrorists and allow the ruined enclave to be rebuilt.

Haddad became head of both Hamas in Gaza and of the terror group’s military wing in June 2025, following the death of Muhammad Sinwar, who was killed in mid-May, 2025 in an Israeli strike. Before that, the terror group was led by Sinwar’s older brother, Yahya, who Israel killed in October 2024.

Profiles of Haddad had described him as someone who kept an extremely low profile, spoke Hebrew and carried photos of Israeli hostages on his cellphone.

Haddad helped plan the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw 251 abducted as hostages to Gaza, triggering the war.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, a Hamas official said that Haddad was known as the “Ghost of al-Qassam” because of his low profile. He had survived several attempts by Israel to assassinate him and had a $750,000 bounty on his head. His two sons were both killed during the war.

Haddad rose through the ranks of Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, eventually taking over as its chief, Arab and Israeli officials said. He was also in the al-Majd, the Hamas internal security group that hunts those who collaborate with Israel and spies. Al-Majd was in the past led by Yahya Sinwar.