Israel says targeted head of Hamas armed wing in Gaza strike

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Israel said on Friday that it carried out a strike in Gaza targeting Ezzedine Al-Haddad, who it described as chief of the armed wing of Palestinian movement Hamas.

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Since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the Israeli military and intelligence services have waged an extensive campaign targeting the group’s senior political leaders and militant commanders in Gaza and across the region.

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“The IDF has carried out a strike in Gaza targeting arch-terrorist Ezzedine Al-Haddad, commander of Hamas’s military wing and one of the principal architects of the October 7 massacre,” the defence minister’s office said in a statement.

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It did not say whether he had been killed.

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“Ezzedine Al-Haddad was the target of the strike and BDA (battle damage assessment) confirmation is still pending,” a military official said, in a separate statement.

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“Within a short period of time after receiving intelligence regarding Haddad’s location from the IDF and the ISA intelligence officials, the Israeli Air Force aircraft took off to carry out the strike,” the official said.

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Gaza’s civil defence agency, a rescue service operating under Hamas, said one person was killed and around 20 others wounded after Israeli warplanes “bombed a residential building” in the Al-Ramal area of Gaza City.

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The agency did not identify the victim.

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Israeli television aired footage of a building on fire in Gaza, saying it was the site where Haddad had been targeted.

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“Al-Haddad was responsible for the murder, abduction and harm inflicted upon thousands of Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers,” the defence minister’s office said.

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“He held our hostages in brutal captivity, orchestrated terrorist attacks against our forces and refused to implement the agreement advanced by US President Donald Trump for Hamas’s disarmament and the demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip.”

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– Ceasefire violations –

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Militants from Hamas’s armed wing led the October 7 attack, which according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures left 1,221 people dead.

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Militants also abducted 251 hostages to Gaza.

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Israel’s retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 72,700 people, according to the territory’s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority.

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The figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

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Despite an October ceasefire, Gaza remains gripped by daily violence as Israeli strikes continue, with both the military and Hamas accusing one another of violating the truce.

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At least 856 Palestinians have been killed since the truce began, according to the territory’s health ministry.

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Over the same period, the Israeli military said five soldiers have been killed in Gaza.

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Haddad “blatantly violated the existing ceasefire by working to restore the capabilities of the terrorist organisation’s military wing, planning numerous attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers, and refusing to disarm” the group, the military official said.

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“Haddad was the most senior military commander in the Hamas terrorist organisation and the last remaining senior Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip who was among the leaders of the October 7th massacre.”

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During the war, Haddad “moved between numerous hiding locations and was heavily involved in Hamas hostage captivity system in the Gaza Strip”.

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Over the course of the war, Israel has claimed responsibility for the assassinations of several Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, widely regarded as a mastermind of the October 7 attack.

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It also killed Mohammed Deif, the longtime commander of Hamas’s armed wing and another key architect of the attack.

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Israeli strikes have also targeted Hamas operatives in Lebanon, as well as senior Hezbollah commanders allied with the group, including former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

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