{"id":801048,"date":"2026-05-16T17:34:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T17:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/801048\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T17:34:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T17:34:18","slug":"idf-confirms-hamas-gaza-chief-izz-al-din-al-haddad-killed-in-airstrike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/801048\/","title":{"rendered":"IDF confirms Hamas Gaza chief Izz al-Din al-Haddad killed in airstrike"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Israel Defense Forces on Saturday confirmed killing Hamas military chief Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the terror group\u2019s leader in Gaza, in a \u201cprecise strike\u201d on Gaza City in the Strip\u2019s north the previous day.<\/p>\n

In a statement Saturday, the military said Haddad had\u00a0recently \u201cacted to rebuild the capabilities of the terrorist organization\u2019s military wing and to plan numerous terror attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops,\u201d despite a US-brokered ceasefire agreement in October.<\/p>\n

A senior Hamas official and a member of the group\u2019s armed wing were also cited by AFP and Reuters confirming Haddad\u2019s death. Haddad was killed along with his wife and a daughter, according to another Hamas source.<\/p>\n

AFP photographs showed mourners carrying the body of Haddad, wrapped in a Hamas flag, on a stretcher from the ruins of a building.<\/p>\n

Separately, the IDF said it also killed two other Hamas terrorists who invaded Israel during the October 7 onslaught in recent strikes in the Strip. It said Khamer Iyad Muhammad Al-Matouq and Khaled Muhammad Salem Jouda were killed in separate strikes in northern Gaza in the past two weeks.<\/p>\n

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The military said the pair had recently attempted to carry out attacks on troops in Gaza, and had \u201cposed an immediate threat to the forces.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another strike in central Gaza on Wednesday killed Abdel Rahman Mahmoud Jumaa Shafi, a member of Hamas\u2019s Bureij Battalion, who the military said had advanced attacks on troops in Gaza.<\/p>\n

The terror group had not officially commented on the killing of Haddad as of Saturday afternoon, even as witnesses said Gaza mosques announced his \u201cmartyrdom,\u201d and Palestinian media published footage of a funeral procession and \u201cmartyr poster\u201d for him in the Strip.<\/p>\n

Nicknamed \u201cThe Ghost,\u201d Haddad had survived multiple assassination attempts by Israel, according to Hamas sources. Israel confirmed<\/a> on Friday that it had targeted Haddad, without saying whether the strike had succeeded.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tPalestinians attend the Gaza City funeral of Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the leader of the Hamas terror group in Gaza, May 16, 2026. He was killed in an IDF strike on May 15. (AP Photo\/Abdel Kareem Hana)<\/p>\n

Haddad, whom the IDF called \u201cone of the architects of the brutal October 7 massacre,\u201d took over his roles after the May 2025 killing of Mohammed Sinwar, the brother and successor of Yahya Sinwar, who led the terror group in the 2023 onslaught that sparked the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cThroughout the war, Haddad was involved in holding<\/a> many Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity. Haddad managed Hamas\u2019s hostage captivity system and surrounded himself with hostages in an attempt to prevent his elimination,\u201d the IDF said.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s last hostages in Gaza were freed as part of the October 2025 ceasefire.<\/p>\n

Haddad joined the fledgling terror group in the 1980s and became one of its longest-surviving commanders. According to the military, he \u201cmaintained close ties with Hamas leadership\u201d and played a \u201ccentral role in Hamas\u2019s terrorist rule\u201d over the Strip.<\/p>\n

He led Hamas\u2019s Gaza City Brigade during the October 7 onslaught, and was one of the last remaining senior commanders \u201cwho directed the planning and execution of the October 7 massacre and the management of combat operations against IDF troops,\u201d the IDF said.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tMourners bid farewell to the bodies of Izz al-Din al-Haddad, Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, and his family members who were killed together in an overnight Israeli strike, during the funeral in Gaza City on May 16, 2026. (Omar AL-QATTAA \/ AFP)<\/p>\n

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir hailed his killing as a \u201csignificant operational success by the IDF led by the Southern Command, the Intelligence Directorate, the Air Force and the Shin Bet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zamir said that \u201cthe name of the arch-terrorist\u201d Haddad \u201ccame up again and again\u201d in his conversations with former hostages, according to remarks published by the IDF.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, we succeeded in eliminating him,\u201d Zamir said. \u201cThe IDF will continue to pursue our enemies, strike, and settle accounts with everyone who took part in the October 7 massacre.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Zamir instructed the Southern Command to \u201cmaintain high operational readiness and to respond immediately to any attempt to harm our forces or the territory of the State of Israel,\u201d the military said.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tIDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir is seen with troops of the Israeli Air Force\u2019s Shaldag Unit during a drill on the Jordan border, May 15, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)<\/p>\n

Israel vowed to kill Hamas leaders following the October 7 onslaught, and has since then killed senior Hamas officials, including the Sinwar brothers, Hamas politburo head Ismail Haniyeh and longtime military chief Muhammad Deif.<\/p>\n

The attack saw thousands of Hamas-led terrorists storm southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, who were eventually returned in military operations and truce-hostage deals.<\/p>\n

Israeli forces have killed over 72,000 people in Gaza, according to the Strip\u2019s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.<\/p>\n

The IDF says it has killed over 23,000 combatants in Gaza and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.<\/p>\n

Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza\u2019s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas, including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.<\/p>\n

Agencies and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.<\/p>\n


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