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Izz al-Din al-Haddad

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Izz al-Din al-Haddad
عز الدين الحداد
4th Leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip
Incumbent
Assumed office
13 May 2025
Preceded byMohammed Sinwar
8th Commander of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades
Incumbent
Assumed office
13 May 2025
Preceded byMohammed Sinwar
Personal details
BornIzz ad-Din al-Haddad
1970 (age 55–56)
Residence(s)Gaza Strip, Palestine
Nickname(s)Abu Suhaib (kunya)
The Ghost of the Gaza Strip[1]
Military service
Allegiance Hamas
BranchAl-Qassam Brigades
Years of service1987–present
RankCommander
Battles/wars

Izz al-Din al-Haddad (Arabic: عز الدين الحداد, romanized: ʻIzz al-Dīn al-Ḥaddād, born 1970), also known by his nom de guerre Abu Suhaib (Arabic: أبو صهيب), is a Palestinian politician and militant who has served as the leader and commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades since May 2025. He has also served as the fourth Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip since May 2025. He held both positions following the assassination of his predecessor, Mohammed Sinwar.[2] He also co-currently[clarification needed] serves as the head of the Gaza Brigade and oversees the northern sector of the Gaza Strip.

Al-Haddad is a member of Hamas's General Military Council and has been instrumental in planning and executing the group's operations.[3] He is known as the "Ghost of al-Qassam" in Gaza.[3]

Early life and career

Al-Haddad joined Hamas at a young age, aligning with the movement since its inception in 1987. He began his career as an operative in the Gaza Brigade and rose through the ranks to become a platoon commander, then a battalion commander, eventually leading the brigade itself.[4]

Later career

Al-Haddad assumed control of Al-Qassam Brigades' Gaza City brigade during the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, after the assassination of his predecessor, Bassem Issa.[1][5] In November 2023, he took command of Hamas's northern Gaza brigade,[2] and became the overall commander of northern Gaza by June 2024. He had commanded at least six battalions and a special forces unit.[1]

Al-Haddad also had a senior role in Hamas's internal security unit, Al-Majd, which engaged in efforts to uncover spies and collaborators with Israel.[6] He was close to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, and the pair are thought to have discussed internal security and counterintelligence operations.[1]

Al-Haddad is known for his operational secrecy and rarely appears in public, earning him the nickname the "Ghost of al-Qassam".[6] However, in May 2022, he was seen in a video threatening Israel, and in January 2025, he gave an interview to Al Jazeera, discussing his role in planning the October 7 attack.[7]

Gaza war

Role in the October 7 attacks

On 6 October 2023, al-Haddad convened his battalion commanders and distributed written orders for the planned attack on Israel, later known as Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. The orders emphasized the importance of abducting Israeli soldiers and transporting them into Gaza,[1] as well as "live broadcasting and the takedown of Israeli communities".[8] The following day, Hamas launched a surprise attack, resulting in significant casualties and the abduction of Israeli civilians and soldiers. During the attacks, al-Haddad managed the initial incursion into Israeli territory. His instructions led to some of the deadliest attacks during the incursion, particularly the Nahal Oz attack.[9][8]

Activities during the Gaza war

In November 2023, Israeli authorities offered US$750,000 for information on al-Haddad leading to his capture or death.[1]

During the Gaza war, al-Haddad oversaw efforts to reconstruct infrastructure during ceasefires. He also oversaw handovers of Israeli hostages.[8]

Following the killing of Yahya Sinwar, The Wall Street Journal reported that al-Haddad took command of two regional commands and 14 battalions, practically sharing control of Hamas with Mohammed Sinwar.[1] In 2025, he helped push Mohammed Sinwar to accept the Gaza war ceasefire with Israel, and tried to convince him to release additional hostages before the ceasefire collapsed in March.[10]

Accounts from hostages who met al-Haddad

A former Israeli hostage told The Wall Street Journal that they had met al-Haddad five times, and occasionally slept in the same apartment as him. The former hostage said that during their initial encounter in March 2024, al-Haddad insisted on speaking to hostages in Hebrew and asked them if they had any needs. He once insisted his fighters recover a book that the hostage had left behind. The hostage said that al-Haddad's demeanor had become "more negative" during a later meeting in January 2025. The meeting took place shortly after his son was killed in an airstrike that month.[10]

In December 2025, Eitan Mor told Israeli newspaper Makor Rishon that shortly he was taken hostage by Hamas during the Nova music festival massacre, al-Haddad met him and told Mor in Hebrew that he would be released in two weeks. Al-Haddad met with Mor several other times before his release in October 2025.[11]

In a January 2026 interview with Channel 12, Romi Gonen recounted speaking to al-Haddad over a landline phone during the end of the November 2023 ceasefire in Gaza. Al-Haddad told her that she would be prioritized for release as long as she did not tell anyone that her captors sexually assaulted her. Later, she and fellow hostage Emily Damari were taken to al-Haddad's tunnel in eastern Gaza City, where they were used as human shields for 35 days. During Gonen's release on 19 January 2025, al-Haddad approached the vehicle she was in and asked her "Do you remember our promise? Here, you're going out first … Do you remember your promise to me? I hope you fulfill it." Gonen told him "I'll fulfill the promise", before she was driven to be handed off to the Red Cross.[12][13]

Leadership

In May 2025, al-Haddad became Hamas's leader after Mohammed Sinwar was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike.[6]

As of May 2025, al-Haddad continues to lead Hamas's military wing's operations in the northern Gaza Strip and is involved in rebuilding the group's capabilities following significant losses during the ongoing conflict.[14] As the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, he has veto power over any ceasefire or hostage deal in the Gaza war.[2] According to Arab officials, he is more open to hostage deals and Israeli demands for Hamas to disarm, but believes that all of the hostages should not be released until the end of the war and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.[10][6]

According to a Middle Eastern official, al-Haddad views the Chechen fight against Russia during the First Chechen War as a model that Hamas should follow in Gaza.[15]

He opposed the Gaza war peace plan in October 2025, seeing it as "designed to finish Hamas".[16]

Israeli targeting and assassination attempts

Al-Haddad has survived multiple Israeli assassination attempts, reportedly six,[2] and is considered one of the most wanted Hamas commanders by Israel. He ranks first on Israel's most-wanted list of al-Qassam leaders, after the deaths of Marwan Issa, Mohammed Sinwar, and Ra'ad Sa'ad.[4]

Al-Haddad's eldest son and grandson were killed in an airstrike in Gaza City on 17 January 2025.[10] His second son was killed in an airstrike later in April of the same year.[8][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Next in line? The Hamas commander poised to succeed Sinwar". Ynetnews. 14 May 2025. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d "Hamas's Gaza City commander, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, to replace Sinwar as Hamas chief". Jerusalem Post. 2 June 2025. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  3. ^ a b Halabi, Einav; Ari, Lior Ben (2025-03-30). "Hamas said to turn down $2B offer to disarm, relocate top commanders from Gaza". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2025-05-18.
  4. ^ a b "Ez al-Dine al-Haddad: The Gaza Brigade Commander Tasked With Rebuilding al-Qassam". Al-Estiklal. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
  5. ^ Truzman, Joe (2025-06-06). "Analysis: Who will replace Muhammad Sinwar as the leader of Hamas in Gaza?". FDD's Long War Journal. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
  6. ^ a b c d "Hamas's new Gaza leader: A Hebrew-speaking 'ghost' with a $750,000 price on his head". The Times of Israel. 12 June 2025. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
  7. ^ "Israel may have killed Muhammad Sinwar, but he was likely never in the driver's seat". The Times of Israel. 14 May 2025. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d Weiniger, Gabrielle (2025-06-01). "Meet the new Hamas leader standing in the way of a ceasefire deal". The Times. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
  9. ^ Bodkin, Henry (2025-06-08). "Hamas's 'last man standing' faces fight to keep control of Gaza". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
  10. ^ a b c d Said, Summer; Lieber, Dov; Peled, Anat (2025-06-11). "The 'Ghost of al-Qassam' Becomes Hamas's Third Leader in Seven Months". WSJ. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
  11. ^ "Gaza hostage Eitan Mor electrocuted, starved in Hamas hands". The Jerusalem Post. 2025-12-13. Retrieved 2026-01-04.
  12. ^ "Romi Gonen: Hamas chief offered me early release in exchange for silence on sexual assault". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2026-01-04.
  13. ^ "Former Israeli hostage recounts sexual abuse in Hamas captivity and fear of becoming a 'sex slave'". CNN. 2026-01-04. Retrieved 2026-01-04.
  14. ^ "Ezz al-Din al-Hadad". European Council on Foreign Relations. 13 January 2025. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
  15. ^ Rasgon, Adam; Bergman, Ronen (2025-07-03). "Hamas Has a New Leader in Gaza. His Next Test: Cease-Fire Talks". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
  16. ^ "Hamas military leader in Gaza objects to ceasefire plan, BBC understands". BBC. 2025-10-02. Retrieved 2025-10-11.
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