Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Friday that forces had targeted the military leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Izz ad-Din al-Haddad.
Al-Haddad was “one of the architects of the October 7 massacre” in 2023, Katz said in a statement. "This is a clear message to all the murderers who seek our lives: sooner or later, Israel will get you."
Israeli media, citing a senior security official, reported that the assassination attempt in Gaza City appeared to have been successful.
According to the official, authorization to kill al-Haddad had been granted around one and a half weeks earlier, and he had been under constant surveillance since then.
In a statement, the Israeli military said al-Haddad had been the target of an attack, adding that further details would be released once his death had been confirmed.
Hamas has not yet commented.
Witnesses reported that seven Palestinians were killed and around 50 injured in an Israeli airstrike in a suburb of Gaza City. There were unconfirmed reports that al-Haddad was among the dead.
