The chief of Hamas’s armed branch, Ezzedine al-Haddad, who played a key role in the October 7th attack according to Israel, was killed in Gaza, announced the Israeli army and the Palestinian Islamist movement on Saturday, May 16th, following a strike that targeted him. According to a Hamas official, Ezzedine al-Haddad “was assassinated in an Israeli strike on a residential apartment and a civilian vehicle yesterday [Friday] in Gaza.”
Ezzedine al-Haddad had long been a target of the Israeli army: he is described as “the last senior leader of Hamas still present in Gaza who was involved in organizing the massacre of October 7th,” according to an Israeli military official. The Defense Ministry had announced on Friday that they targeted him, without immediately confirming his death, presenting him as a “top terrorist” and “one of the main architects” of October 7th. He was killed with his wife and daughter, according to another Hamas source. Their funerals took place on Saturday morning in Gaza City, with images showing a mourning crowd around Ezzedine al-Haddad’s coffin draped in a Hamas flag.
Israeli army chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, praised a “major operational success.” “In all the conversations I had with released hostages, his name kept coming up,” he said in a statement. He added, “Today, we succeeded in eliminating him. The Israeli army will continue to track down our enemies, strike them, and hold accountable all those who took part in October 7th.”
Six assassination attempts
The Defense Ministry accuses Ezzedine al-Haddad of being “responsible for the murder, kidnapping, and suffering inflicted on thousands of Israeli civilians and soldiers by the Israeli army.” “He kept our hostages in brutal captivity, orchestrated terrorist attacks against our forces, and refused to implement the agreement proposed by US President Donald Trump for Hamas disarmament and the demilitarization of Gaza,” it was stated on Friday.
Born in 1970, Ezzedine al-Haddad took command of Hamas’s armed branch in May 2025, after the death of his predecessor in an Israeli strike, according to an Islamist movement source. He had previously survived six assassination attempts by Israel. At the origin of the creation of Hamas’ security services, he was responsible for supervising exchanges between hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has claimed responsibility for the assassinations of several top Hamas officials, including Yahya Sinouar, its leader in Gaza, killed on October 16, 2024, considered the mastermind behind the attacks. In addition to Yahya Sinouar, the Israeli army had killed Mohammed Deif in July 2024, chief commander of the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades and another mastermind of the attacks. Israeli strikes have also targeted Hamas leaders abroad, as well as senior Hezbollah commanders, including former leader Hassan Nasrallah.
