Israel announced the death of the head of the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, presented as one of the architects of the October 7, 2023 massacres.
Since the day of Hamas’ surprise attack, when the group’s fighters killed more than 1,200 people in Israeli territory, the Israeli Army and intelligence services have been carrying out a campaign against the group’s political leaders and high-ranking military commanders in Gaza and throughout the region.
On Friday, the Israeli Armed Forces announced an air strike in Gaza against Hadad and, this Saturday, confirmed the death.
“The Army and the internal security agency announce that yesterday (Friday), in a precision strike in the Gaza City area, terrorist Ezedin Al Hadad was eliminated,” a military statement said.
Two Hamas leaders confirmed Al Hadad’s death to AFP.
“Ezedin Al Hadad was murdered yesterday in an Israeli attack on an apartment and a civilian vehicle in Gaza City,” said a Hamas official. A member of the movement’s armed wing confirmed the death.
AFP photographs recorded the moment when several people carried Hadad’s body, wrapped in a Hamas flag, supported on a stretcher in the ruins of a building.
The Israeli government named Al Hadad as “one of the main architects of the massacre of October 7, 2023” and also accused him of being responsible for the kidnapping of civilians and soldiers on the same day.
Hamas took 251 hostages on October 7, 2023.
“Hadad commanded the Hamas hostage captivity system and surrounded himself with hostages in an attempt to prevent his elimination,” the Israeli army said.
A ‘significant operational achievement’
The Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, Lieutenant Colonel Eyal Zamir, described the death of the leader of the armed wing of Hamas as “significant operational achievement”.
“In every conversation I had with the returned hostages, the name of arch-terrorist Ezedin Al Hadad (…) came up a few times,” Zamir said in a statement.
“Today we managed to eliminate it. The IDF will continue to pursue our enemies, attack them and hold accountable all those who participated in the October 7th massacre,” he added.
The attack triggered a war, in which the Israeli retaliatory campaign devastated the Gaza Strip, where more than two million Palestinians live, and killed more than 72,000 people, according to the territory’s Ministry of Health, which operates under the authority of Hamas and whose figures are considered reliable by the UN.
Since the start of the war, Israel claims to have eliminated several Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, considered one of the masterminds of the October 7 massacre.
He also killed Mohamed Deif, a commander of the armed wing of Hamas and another important mastermind of the massacre.
Israeli strikes also targeted Hamas members in Lebanon, in addition to commanders from the pro-Iranian movement Hezbollah, an ally of the group, including its leader Hassan Nasrallah, murdered in Beirut.
Despite the entry into force in October of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, Gaza remains plunged into a spiral of violence and the parties exchange accusations about violations of the truce.
At least 856 Palestinians have died since the start of the truce, according to the territory’s Ministry of Health.
In the same period, the Israeli Army recorded the deaths of five soldiers in Gaza.
