“In every conversation I held with returning hostages, the name of the mass murderer Izz al-Din Haddad came up again and again,” Zamir said.
By The IDF Club
The IDF and Shin Bet announced Saturday that they carried out a precision strike in Gaza City, eliminating senior Hamas terrorist Izz al-Din Haddad, head of the group’s military wing and one of the key architects of the October 7 massacre.
According to the military, Haddad assumed the role after the elimination of Muhammad Sinwar and had recently been working to rebuild Hamas’ military capabilities while planning additional attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF forces.
Throughout the war, Haddad was also involved in holding Israeli hostages in Gaza and oversaw elements of the hostage detention system. The IDF said he surrounded himself with hostages in an effort to deter Israeli strikes.
A veteran Hamas commander, Haddad was among the organization’s most senior remaining figures and played a central role in both the planning and execution of the October 7 attacks, as well as in directing combat operations against Israeli forces during the war.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir described the strike as a “significant operational success” and a “critical closing of the circle.”
“In every conversation I held with returning hostages, the name of the mass murderer Izz al-Din Haddad came up again and again,” Zamir said. “Today we succeeded in eliminating him. The IDF will continue to pursue our enemies and hold accountable all those who took part in the October 7 massacre. We will not rest until we reach them all.”
In a separate operation on Sunday, IDF forces in the Southern Command eliminated Baha’a Baroud, a commander in Hamas’ operations headquarters who had been actively involved in planning and advancing terror attacks against Israeli forces in Gaza.
The military said Baroud posed an immediate threat and was killed in a precise airstrike. Prior to the strike, steps were taken to minimize harm to civilians, including the use of precision munitions and aerial surveillance.
The IDF said its forces remain deployed in accordance with operational directives and will continue to act to remove immediate threats to Israeli troops and civilians.
