Israel strikes top Hamas commander in Gaza City, fate unclear

Israel struck a residential building in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood on Friday, targeting Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the man it says now leads Hamas’s military wing in Gaza. Reports said a second strike hit a nearby vehicle, and Hamas had not immediately commented on whether Haddad was alive or dead. Israeli officials said there were early signs he may have been killed, but no official confirmation followed.

Haddad became Hamas’s military chief in Gaza after Mohammad Sinwar was killed in May 2025, placing him at the center of the group’s armed hierarchy at a moment when Gaza’s war had already gone through repeated leadership losses. Israeli media described him as the highest-ranking remaining Hamas military commander in the Strip, and Israeli officials said he was one of the architects of the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks. His possible removal would not end Hamas, but it would force another transfer of authority inside a command structure that has already been under relentless pressure.

Before taking over the military wing, Haddad commanded the Gaza City Brigade. Hamas military media identified him in a video released in May 2022, and Israeli sources said he was part of the decision-making circle behind the Oct. 7 attack. In November 2023, Israel announced a $750,000 reward for information leading to his location, a sign that Israeli intelligence had treated him as a priority target for months.

The strike landed amid a fragile ceasefire and deadlocked Gaza talks tied to a U.S.-backed post-war plan, sharpening the question of whether Israel’s latest blow meaningfully changes the war or mainly repeats a familiar pattern of killing senior Hamas figures without forcing the conflict to end. If Haddad is dead, Hamas would lose a commander deeply tied to both the Oct. 7 assault and the hostage issue, but the group has repeatedly replaced slain leaders. If he survived, Israel’s message was equally clear: the hunt for the remaining commanders in Gaza continues.

Former hostages publicly celebrated reports of Haddad’s possible death, saying he was responsible for their abduction and captivity. Haddad’s family has also been hit by the war before; his son, Suhaib al-Haddad, was reportedly killed in an Israeli strike in eastern Gaza City in January 2025. For Gaza civilians, the strike added another round of uncertainty, with no immediate clarity on Hamas’s response, the ceasefire, or who would next inherit the chain of command.