Photo credit: Ebrahim Hajjaj/Reuters

The IDF confirmed on Saturday that Hamas military leader Izz ad-Din al-Haddad was killed in an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip on Friday, following an earlier report from Reuters that Hamas had acknowledged his death.

In a statement released on Saturday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir described the operation as a "significant operational achievement," News.Az reports, citing The Jerusalem Post.

"In every conversation I held with the hostages who returned, the name of the arch-terrorist Izz al-Din al-Haddad, one of the chief perpetrators of the October 7 massacre and the head of Hamas’ military wing, came up again and again," said Zamir. "Today, we succeeded in eliminating him.

The IDF will continue to pursue our enemies, strike them, and hold accountable everyone who took part in the October 7 massacre," added Zamir. "We will not relent until we reach them all - this is our duty to all those who returned and to all citizens of the State of Israel.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement on Friday evening that Haddad had been targeted. The Air Force carried out the strike after receiving intelligence from the IDF's Southern Command and Military Intelligence Directorate on Haddad's location, which had been identified after years of military intelligence collection. Approval was given to the IDF by government officials about 10 days prior to the attack, according to Israeli media. 

Prior to the attack, the Air Force carried out a "deception operation" approved by Brig.-Gen. Omer Tischler. The operation was intended to prevent Hamas from detecting unusual activity in the western Negev and Gazan airspace while assuring that Hamas's military wing, as well as Haddad's inner circle, remained on low alert.

Head of IDF Operations Maj.-Gen. Itzik Cohen instructed the military to be ready on land, at sea, and in the air following the strike.

News.Az 

By Ulviyya Salmanli