Tel Aviv: Israel carried out air strikes in Gaza on Friday evening, targeting Hamas military chief Izz al-Din al-Haddad. While his fate is unknown, at least seven people were killed in the attacks.
Hamas did not comment on the strikes but Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Israel Katz confirmed then, saying that the leader of Hamas’ Qassam brigades was targeted.
The air strikes are known to have been targeted against a residential building and a vehicle. Several injured people were taken to the Saraya Field Hospital and Shifa hospital, health officials said, as reported by Hindustan Times.
Netanyahu and Katz said in a statement that al-Haddad was “one of the architects” o
f the October 7, 2023 attack in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.
Despite a ceasefire announced in October 2025, Gaza has witnessed near-daily Israeli fire. More than 850 people have been killed since then, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The Health Ministry is part of Gaza’s Hamas-run government, but staffed by medical professionals who maintain and publish detailed records, viewed as generally reliable by the international community.
Meanwhile, both Netanyahu and Katz have warned that Israel will continue to work against all those who took part in the October 7 attack. Nearly 72,700 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its offensive in response to that attack by Hamas.
“Sooner or later, Israel will reach you,” the statement issued by them said.
Palestinians claimed that more airstrikes followed the one that targeted al-Haddad. It was not immediately clear what the Israeli military was targeting.
For months now, Israel has targeted Hamas members inside the coastal enclave, the last of whom was the son of Hamas’ lead negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya.