Kathmandu. The head of Hamas’ armed wing, Ajeddin al-Haddad, was killed in an Israeli raid in Gaza on Friday, the Israeli military said.

Al-Haddad has been named by Israel as the mastermind of the October 7, 2023 attack. The Palestinian armed militant group Hamas also confirmed al-Haddad’s death in an Israeli strike.

Since Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, the Israeli military and intelligence services have launched a massive campaign targeting the group’s senior political leaders and militant commanders in Gaza and the region.

On Friday, the army launched an airstrike targeting al-Haddad in Gaza, confirming his death.

“The head of Hamas’ armed wing, al-Haddad, was killed in a precision strike by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israel Security Agency (ISA) on a Gaza city on Friday,” the military said, referring to itself and the Shin Bet domestic security agency. ”

Two Hamas officials also confirmed that Haddad was killed in the Israeli strike. “Ajeddin al-Haddad was martyred in an Israeli attack on a residential apartment and a civilian vehicle in Gaza City,” a senior Hamas commander told AFP. ”

Another member of Hamas’s armed wing confirmed his death. According to Hamas sources, Haddad, his wife and a daughter were killed in the Israeli strike.

AFP images showed mourners carrying Haddad’s body wrapped in a Hamas flag from the rubble of the building and carried it on a stretcher.

The Israeli military said Haddad was one of the last senior commanders in Hamas’ military wing to direct the planning and execution of the October 7 massacre.

Haddad is also said to have been involved in the hiding and relocation of Israeli hostages during the war.

“Haddad managed Hamas’s hostage system and repeatedly saved his life by using hostages as a shield,” the statement said.

Israel’s army chief, Lieutenant Colonel Eyal Zamir, called the operation a “significant achievement”. “Al-Haddad’s name kept cropping up in every conversation I had with the returnees,” he said.

“Today we succeeded in removing al-Haddad,” he said. The IDF will continue to pursue enemies, attack them, and hold accountable all those who took part in the October 7 massacre. ”

Israel has claimed responsibility for the attacks that killed several Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7 attacks.