Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that Israeli forces had targeted and killed the head of Hamas’s “military wing” Izz al-Din al-Haddad, calling him the “chief murderer” and a key figure behind the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
“Every terrorist is a marked man; we will pursue and reach them all,” the premier stated along with an IDF image of al-Haddad.
חיסלנו את רב המרצחים, עז אלדין חדאד - מהאחראים הראשיים לטבח ה-7.10 וראש הזרוע הצבאית של חמאס. כל מחבל הוא בן מוות, נרדוף ונשיג את כולם pic.twitter.com/urt3HHj646
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) May 16, 2026
The leading terrorist was killed in a precision airstrike in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood on Friday, the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) said in a joint statement earlier Saturday.
President Isaac Herzog quoted Psalm 18:37 in a Saturday X post congratulating Israeli security and intelligence on the operation.
“I will pursue my enemies and overtake them; I will not return until they are destroyed,” Herzog wrote.
״אֶרְדּוֹף אוֹיְבַי וְאַשִּׂיגֵם וְלֹא אָשׁוּב עַד כַּלּוֹתָם"
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) May 16, 2026
אני מברך את צה״ל, השב״כ וכוחות הביטחון על חיסולו של ראש הזרוע הצבאית של חמאס עז א-דין אל-חדאד. מי שהיה ממתכנני ומובילי מתקפת התופת של השבעה באוקטובר, והחזיק את חטופינו בשבי באכזריות בלתי נתפסת. רב-מרצחים שהקדיש את…
“I commend the IDF, the Shin Bet and the security forces for eliminating Hamas’s military wing chief, Izz al-Din al-Haddad. He was among the planners and leaders of the Oct. 7 attack and held our hostages in captivity with unimaginable cruelty. A mass murderer who devoted his life to terrorism and for years planned and carried out heinous attacks against Israeli civilians,” Herzog said.
“The State of Israel will continue to act with determination against terrorism and will reach everyone who took part in the events of Oct. 7,” the president continued.
