Sat 16 May 2026 at 10:14pmSat 16 May 2026 at 10:14pmA vehicle targeted in one of two Israeli air strikes on Friday intended to kill Hamas's military commander. (AP Photo: Jehad Alshrafi)In short:A senior Hamas official has confirmed the group's armed wing chief, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, was killed in Gaza by Israeli air strikes.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said Haddad was one of the architects of Hamas's October 7, 2023 terror attacks in southern Israel.What's next?Israel and Hamas remain deadlocked in indirect talks to advance US President Donald Trump's post-war plan for Gaza that is meant to end more than two years of fighting.Israel's military has confirmed it killed the chief of Hamas's military wing in an air strike on Gaza on Friday, making him the most senior Hamas official to be killed by Israel since a US-backed ceasefire agreement meant to halt fighting was implemented in October.A senior Hamas official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed to the Reuters news agency that Izz al-Din al-Haddad was killed in the attack.Hamas is yet to publicly announced Haddad's death, however a joint funeral was held on Saturday for Haddad, his wife and his 19-year-old daughter at Al Aqsa Martyrs mosque in central Gaza.It was not immediately clear whether Haddad's family members were killed in the same strike that killed the military commander.Israel carried out at least two attacks on Gaza on Friday, killing seven Palestinians including three women and a child, according to local medics.The first strike targeted an apartment in the Gaza City area of Rimal, medics said, killing four and wounding several others, while the second strike targeted a vehicle on a nearby street, killing three.Flames engulf a residential building following an Israeli strike in the Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City. (AP Photo: Jehad Alshrafi)Gaza's civil defence spokesperson, Mahmoud Basal, said hundreds of people had been living inside the building that was targeted."The missile was fired without any pre-warning or notification. We are talking about a number of [dead]. We are talking about a big number of wounded, among them families," Mr Basal said.Announcing the strike on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said Haddad was one of the architects of the October 7, 2023 terror attacks by Hamas militants that precipitated Israel's ongoing assault on Gaza.Haddad, who became the group's military chief in Gaza after Israel's killing of Mohammad Sinwar in May 2025, "was responsible for the murder, abduction, and harm inflicted on thousands of Israeli civilians [and] soldiers", they said.Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said Haddad was one of the architects of the October 7 attacks. (AP Photo: Ariel Schalit)Nicknamed "the Ghost", Haddad had survived multiple assassination attempts by Israel, according to Hamas sources.Israel's military said he was one of Hamas's longest-serving commanders, rising through the ranks from the group's early establishment in the 1980s to hold several senior positions.Israel and Hamas remain deadlocked in indirect talks to advance US President Donald Trump's post-war plan for Gaza that is meant to end more than two years of fighting.Israel has escalated its attacks in Gaza in the ​weeks since halting its joint bombing with the US in Iran, redirecting its fire back on the ruined Palestinian territory where the military says Hamas fighters are tightening their grip on power.Reuters/ABC