Israel targets Hamas militant chief in Gaza, medics say three killed

JERUSALEM/CAIRO, May 15 (Reuters) – Israel said it had targeted the head of Hamas’ armed wing with a strike in Gaza on Friday, describing him as an architect of the October 7, 2023, attacks that precipitated Israel’s two-year assault on the Palestinian territory. 

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’s killing of commander Mohammad Sinwar in May 2025. 

Haddad is the most senior Hamas official targeted with a strike by Israel since an October U.S.-backed deal that was meant to halt 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. 

Medics in Gaza said at least three people were killed and 20 injured in air strikes targeting an apartment and a vehicle. It was not immediately clear if Haddad was one of the dead.    

ISRAEL SAYS ‘HADDAD RESPONSIBLE FOR KILLING OF ISRAELIS’ 

In a joint statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said Haddad “was responsible for the murder, abduction, and harm inflicted on thousands of Israeli civilians (and) soldiers.”

They did not say whether they believed Haddad had been killed. 

Medics and witnesses in Gaza said an air strike had targeted an apartment in the Gaza City area of Rimal, killing at least one person and wounding several others. The identity of the person killed was not immediately clear. 

A second Israeli air strike soon after targeted a vehicle on a nearby street, the medics and witnesses said. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the second strike. 

Israel has escalated its attacks in Gaza in the five ​weeks since halting its joint bombing with the U.S. in Iran, redirecting its fire back on the ruined Palestinian enclave where the military ‌believes Hamas fighters are tightening their grip.

The agreement reached last October halted major fighting in Gaza after two years ‌of war ⁠between Israel and Hamas. But steps have faltered to reach a permanent settlement that would withdraw Israeli troops, disarm the militants and allow the ruined enclave to be rebuilt.

Israeli forces still occupy more than half of Gaza’s territory, where they have demolished most remaining buildings and ordered all residents out.

More than 2 million people now live in a tiny strip of territory along the coast, mainly in damaged structures or makeshift tents, where Hamas fighters have de facto control.

Some 850 Palestinians have ​been killed in Israeli strikes since the ​October ceasefire, according to figures that ⁠do not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Four Israeli soldiers were killed by militants during the same period. Hamas does not disclose figures for casualties among its fighters.

(Reporting by Rami Ayyub in Jerusalem and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo, Editing by Alexandra Hudson)