Hamas confirms killing of Qassam Brigades leader in Israeli attack

Israel targeted Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the head of Hamas’s armed wing in Gaza, in an attack that killed seven people.Hamas has confirmed the killing of Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the head of the armed wing of the Palestinian group in Gaza, in an Israeli attack a day earlier.Hamas condemned Israel’s “treacherous and cowardly assassination” of al-Haddad, who led the Qassam Brigades, in a statement on Saturday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Seven killed in Gaza on Nakba Day as Israel says it targets Hamas memberlist 2 of 3Israel launches deadly air strikes on Gaza City apartment buildinglist 3 of 3Gaza aid convoy in Libya prepares to head to Gazaend of listIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel-katz" class="entity-link entity-person" data-entity-id="4249" data-entity-type="person">Israel Katz said on Friday that Israeli forces had targeted and killed al-Haddad, calling him “one of the architects” of the October 7, 2023, attacks.Hamas said al-Haddad was killed along with his wife, his daughter, and other Palestinian civilians on Friday evening.The Israeli strikes targeted the Remal neighbourhood west of Gaza City. Three Palestinians were killed in a strike on a civilian vehicle, and four others died in a strike on a building, medical sources said.Three women and a baby were among those killed, sources told Al Jazeera. Dozens of other people were wounded.Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim Al Khalili, reporting from Gaza on the attack that killed al-Haddad, said the strikes caused “panic” at the scene as dozens of Palestinians were forced to flee the “massive fire” that engulfed the residential building.Hamas said al-Haddad’s killing marks the latest Israeli breach of the Gaza “ceasefire” agreement, as well as its “ongoing aggression against innocent civilians” in the enclave.Such attacks reaffirm “the criminal and fascist nature” of Israel, the group said.“It demonstrates its disregard for all international laws and conventions, and its failed attempts to impose political and military realities that it has been unable to achieve by force,” its statement added.