Israel’s military on Saturday said it had killed the chief of Hamas’ military wing in an air strike on Gaza the previous day, the most senior Hamas official killed by Israel since an October US-backed ceasefire agreement that was meant to halt fighting.
A senior Hamas official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed Izz al-Din al-Haddad, who was born in 1970, was killed in the attack. Hamas Gaza spokesperson Hazem Qassem later said in a video statement published on Facebook that Haddad had died, without giving further details.
At Al Aqsa Martyrs Mosque in central Gaza, a joint funeral was held on Saturday for Haddad, his wife and their 19-year-old daughter. It was not immediately clear how they died.
Advertisement
Israel carried out at least two attacks on Gaza on Friday, killing seven Palestinians, including three women and one child, according to local doctors. A Palestinian source said Haddad was killed in an Israeli strike on a block of flats.
Israel’s military said that Haddad was killed in what it described as a precise strike on Gaza City. Israel has repeatedly carried out strikes on Gaza since the ceasefire started.
Casualties mount despite ceasefire
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.