Israel said it targeted the head of Hamas' armed wing in an attack in Gaza on Friday, describing him as one of the architects of the October 7, 2023, attacks that launched Israel's two-year offensive on Palestinian territory.
According to Reuters, Hamas did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the fate of Izz al-Din al-Haddad, who became the militant group's military chief in the Gaza Strip after Israel killed commander Mohammed Sinwar in May 2025.
Hadad is the highest-ranking Hamas official to be targeted by Israel since an October U.S.-backed deal aimed at ending fighting in Gaza. The attack comes as Israel and Hamas remain deadlocked in talks to advance President Donald Trump's post-war plan for Gaza.
Doctors in Gaza said at least three people were killed and 20 wounded in airstrikes on an apartment and a vehicle. It was not immediately clear whether Hadad was among the dead.
Israel claims Hadad is responsible for killing Israelis
In a joint statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said Hadad was "responsible for the murders, kidnappings and harming of thousands of Israeli civilians and soldiers."
They did not say whether they believed Hadad had been killed, Reuters reported.
Doctors and witnesses in Gaza said an airstrike hit an apartment in the Rimal area of Gaza City, killing at least one person and wounding several others. The identity of the person killed was not immediately known.
A second Israeli airstrike shortly after hit a vehicle on a nearby street, medics and witnesses said. There were no immediate reports of casualties in the second attack.
Israel has stepped up attacks in Gaza in the five weeks since it suspended a joint bombing campaign against Iran with the US, redirecting fire back to the devastated Palestinian enclave, where the military believes Hamas fighters are consolidating control.
A deal reached last October halted major fighting in Gaza after two years of war between Israel and Hamas. But steps toward a permanent solution that would involve the withdrawal of Israeli troops, the disarmament of militants and the reconstruction of the devastated enclave have stalled.
Israeli forces continue to occupy more than half of Gaza, where they have demolished most of the remaining buildings and ordered all residents to leave the areas.
More than two million people now live in a narrow strip of territory along the coast, mostly in damaged buildings or makeshift tents, where Hamas fighters have de facto control.
According to figures that do not distinguish between combatants and civilians, about 850 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the October ceasefire. During the same period, militants have killed four Israeli soldiers. Hamas does not publish figures on casualties among its fighters.
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