Israeli Strikes Continue in Gaza; Senior Hamas Commander Reportedly Killed
Both the Israeli military and Hamas have confirmed that senior commander Ezzedine Al-Haddad was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza on Friday. A Hamas source stated that the strike also killed Haddad’s wife and one of his daughters.
In a joint announcement, the Israeli military and the Shin Bet domestic security agency said Haddad was “eliminated” in a “precise strike” in Gaza City. Israeli military chief Lieutenant Colonel Eyal Zamir called the killing a “significant operational achievement.” Israel accused Haddad of being a key planner in the October 7th attack and of managing the group’s hostage system, claiming he used captives to prevent his elimination.
A senior Hamas official stated that Haddad was assassinated in a strike targeting a residential apartment and a civilian vehicle. His death was separately confirmed by another member of the group’s armed wing. Photographs showed mourners carrying Haddad’s body from the ruins of a building.
The assassination is part of a broader Israeli campaign targeting senior Hamas political and military leaders in Gaza and across the region, including in Lebanon. Israel has previously claimed the killings of other prominent figures such as Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, the longtime commander of Hamas’s armed wing.
Despite an October ceasefire, daily Israeli strikes on the territory continue. The overall death toll in Gaza from Israel’s military campaign has exceeded 72,700 civilians, according to the territory’s health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations. At least 856 Palestinians have been killed since the truce began, while the Israeli military has reported five soldiers killed in Gaza over the same period.
At least seven more Palestinians, including three women and a child, were martyred as Israeli forces conducted further attacks on Gaza. Residential buildings were reportedly targeted in the strikes.
The Israeli military also claimed to have killed Izz al-Din al-Haddad, a senior commander in Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades. The claim stated he was killed in an airstrike on an apartment in Gaza City.
Meanwhile, recovery efforts are continuing in the aftermath of attacks, with bodies still being pulled from the rubble of destroyed buildings.
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Updated: 6:36 PM PKT — May 16, 2026
The airstrike resulted in at least seven other Palestinian casualties, including three women and a child, with numerous others reported injured. In response to the ongoing conflict, protests expressing solidarity with Palestinians were held in major cities across the world, including Karachi, New York, and Paris.
Updated: 5:52 PM PKT — May 16, 2026
Renewed Israeli attacks on Gaza, reportedly targeting residential buildings, have killed 13 Palestinian civilians over the past two days, including women and children. Meanwhile, solidarity protests marking the “Nakba” were held in major cities across the world, including Karachi, New York, and Paris.
Updated: 1:37 PM PKT — May 16, 2026
The renewed attacks on residential areas also resulted in numerous injuries. Separately, Israeli forces conducted deadly strikes in Lebanon.
