Smoke billows from a residential building that was hit by an Israeli strike the previous day in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on May 16, 2026. (Credit: Omar al-Qattaa/AFP)
An Israeli airstrike on Gaza killed the chief of Hamas' military wing, amid a U.S.-backed cease-fire agreement, in effect since October.
The Israeli army claimed on Saturday that Izz al-Din al-Haddad was killed in what it described as a precise strike on Gaza City on Friday. Israel is carrying out daily strikes and attacks on Gaza despite the cease-fire.
Hamas confirmed in a later statement that Haddad, born in 1970, was killed along with his wife and daughter. It described him as a central figure in directing combat operations.
At Al Aqsa Martyrs Mosque in central Gaza, a joint funeral was held on Saturday for Haddad, his wife, and their 19-year-old daughter.
Israel carried out at least two attacks on Gaza on Friday, killing seven Palestinians, including three women and one child, according to local medics. A Palestinian source said Haddad was killed in an Israeli strike on an apartment building.
On Saturday, two separate Israeli airstrikes killed at least three people, health officials said. Medics said two men were killed by a strike that targeted a vehicle near Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, while another person was killed in Jabalia refugee camp, in the north of the enclave. The Israeli military didn't immediately comment on either of the incidents.
Israeli attacks since the cease-fire have killed at least 850 Palestinians.
In a joint statement with his defense minister on Friday, announcing the military had targeted Haddad, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Haddad was an architect of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.
Haddad became the group's military chief in Gaza after Israel killed Mohammad Sinwar in May 2025.
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 U.S. President Donald Trump's post-war plan for Gaza that is meant to end more than two years of fighting.
Israel has stepped up attacks in Gaza in the weeks since halting its joint bombing with the U.S. in Iran, redirecting its fire back on the devastated Palestinian territory.
Humanitarian convoy reaches Rmeish, Ain Ibl, Dibil despite obstacles
