Israel Kills Hamas Qassam Brigades Commander Izz al-Din al-Haddad in Gaza Airstrike

An Israeli airstrike killed Izz al-Din al-Haddad, leader of Hamas' Qassam Brigades, in Gaza City on May 15, 2026. The Israeli army and Shin Bet announced the killing of the man Israeli officials described as one of the architects of the Oct. 7 attack.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said an airstrike carried out by the military on Friday evening targeted al-Haddad. At least two Israeli strikes hit Gaza City that evening. One struck a residential building in the Rimal neighborhood and another hit a vehicle.

Seven people were killed and dozens of others were wounded, according to health officials at the Palestine Red Crescent Society's Saraya Field Hospital and Shifa hospital, where the casualties were taken. Palestinians reacted to a fire following the Israeli strike on the residential building in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on May 15, 2026.

Palestinian citizens reported more airstrikes that followed the one that targeted al-Haddad.

It was not immediately clear what the Israeli military was targeting in those subsequent strikes. Hamas did not immediately acknowledge or comment on the strike. Netanyahu and Katz stated that al-Haddad was one of the architects of the Oct.

7 attack. In that assault militants killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Netanyahu and Katz threatened that Israel will continue to work against all those who took part in the Oct. 7 attack.

"Sooner or later, Israel will reach you," the statement read. More than 850 people have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire agreement reached in October 2025, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Over 72,700 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its offensive in response to Hamas' 2023 attack, the ministry said.