On Friday evening, Israel’s military proved that beyond any doubt, unleashing a devastating double airstrike on Gaza City that tore through a residential apartment building and a fleeing vehicle. By Saturday morning, the whispers of “martyrdom” echoing from mosques were confirmed: Izz al‑Din al‑Haddad, the commander in chief of the al‑Qassam Brigades and the most senior Hamas official left standing since the ceasefire, had been assassinated.
Known as the “Ghost of al‑Qassam” for his ability to survive half a dozen assassination attempts, al‑Haddad was the man Israel had been hunting for decades. A survivor of three separate elimination attempts during the current war alone, he was the head of the military wing and the keeper of the hostage portfolio. His death was the objective of the strike but it came at a staggering cost. Medics at the scene reported that at least 10 Palestinians were killed and more than 50 wounded. Among those pulled from the rubble of the flattened Al‑Mu’taz building were al‑Haddad’s wife and his 19 year old daughter.
Rising through the ranks of the al‑Qassam Brigades since the 1980s, al‑Haddad took overall command of the military wing in Gaza following the assassination of his predecessor, Mohammed Sinwar, in May 2025. To Israel, he was a “massive ticking time bomb.” The Israeli press had placed a $750,000 bounty on his head, believing him to be the chief architect of the October 7, 2023, attack.
His nickname, “the Ghost,” was well‑earned. He constantly changed his hideouts, trusting very few people, surviving strike after strike. According to an interview he gave to Arab media earlier in the year, al‑Haddad was deeply embedded in the “Axis of Resistance,” coordinating with Iran and Hezbollah while keeping the timing of operations tightly compartmentalized.
A Wall Street Journal report last week revealed that an Israeli hostage held in Gaza met al‑Haddad five separate times, sometimes sharing the same hideout apartment, illustrating how close and yet how elusive he was to the Shin Bet’s grasp.
The horror of the targeted assassination lies not in the demise of the target, but in the deliberate destruction of a civilian building to achieve it. The massacre unfolded shortly after 9 pm local time, when three missiles launched simultaneously from two directions slammed into the five‑story Al‑Mu’taz building in the Al‑Rimal neighborhood. Gaza’s civil defence spokesperson, Mahmoud Basal, described a grim scene of families buried under concrete without any pre‑warning siren. As rescuers scrambled to pull survivors from the fire, a second drone strike targeted a car on Al‑Wehda Street, about 1.5 kilometers away, killing three more people, officials suspect the vehicle was transporting a severely wounded al‑Haddad away from the scene.
By Saturday afternoon, the funeral procession snaked through the streets of Gaza City, a sea of mourners chanting defiance. The bodies of al‑Haddad, his wife, and his daughter were carried on shoulders, wrapped in the white‑shrouded flags of martyrdom. But the symbolism of the moment was not lost on the crowd. As Palestinian journalist and political analyst Ahed Ferwana noted, “The timing of the Israeli airstrike could be linked to domestic political considerations in Israel,” speculating that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is desperately attempting to bolster his standing before the dissolution of the Knesset and upcoming elections. The assassination was about politics, not security.
The assassination occurred while a ceasefire, backed by President Donald Trump was officially in effect. Israel not only violated the spirit of the truce, but it did so with the full knowledge and likely approval of the United States. The Biden/Trump administration’s “Post‑War Plan” for Gaza, which calls for the demilitarisation of the Strip, has been deadlocked for months. Rather than engage in diplomacy, Washington has returned to its default position: giving Israel the green light to bomb.
The human toll of this approach is staggering. Since the October ceasefire, more than 857 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Friday’s attack was just another addition to that grim tally. Yet the world’s focus has drifted to the Strait of Hormuz and the negotiations in Islamabad.
The al‑Qassam Brigades have released official statements confirming the martyrdom of their commander, vowing revenge and continuity. The police force, which Israel had tried to destroy in the spring, has been reactivated, and the internal security apparatus is already identifying collaborators suspected of leading the killer drones to the apartment.
The military leadership of Hamas has proven remarkably resilient throughout the war. Al‑Haddad himself rose to the top after his predecessors were eliminated. While his absence will be felt, the operational capacity of the Brigades remains. As the smoke clears over Al‑Rimal, the long war of attrition continues.