Izz ad-Din Haddad, the Hebrew speaker who held the hostages and became the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, was left almost alone, with Muhammad Odeh - the intelligence chief who, according to reports, was also appointed as the northern Gaza brigade commander. Several brigade commanders in the terrorist organization also remained alive, and their identities were revealed after the IDF announced their elimination - and they appeared in public. Also: The survivors from"The Cards"
Ynet
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The elimination of
Raed Saad, number 2 in Hamas
, left in the Gaza Strip the
Ezz ad-Din Haddad
, the leader of the organization's military wing, is alone at the top - at least as far as is known for now. Saad, who has survived several assassination attempts over the years, was attacked while driving today (Saturday) - and did not survive this attack. These are the senior figures remaining in the terrorist organization's military wing in the Gaza Strip:
Ezz ad-Din Haddad
Izz ad-Din Haddad, from the old guard and one of the last leaders of Hamas. Haddad, 55, previously commanded the Gaza City Brigade in Hamas' military wing, but after the assassination of Muhammad Sinwar, he replaced him as head of the military wing. Last July, it was revealed that Haddad had changed his appearance in one way or another: he dyed his hair black and shaved off a large part of his beard.
3 Viewing the gallery
Izz a-Din then - and now. Dyed his hair black and shaved off part of his beard
Who was called, among other things, the"Ghost of Hamas," survived six assassination attempts, and in addition to being the commander of the Gaza Brigade, has been considered for years one of the most prominent military leaders in the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the terrorist organization. He speaks Hebrew, and held hostages in the northern Gaza Strip during the war - including the female observers who were released, and Eitan Mor - who only yesterday spoke about the meetings with the one who became the leader of the organization.
Muhammad Odeh
Muhammad Odeh is another of the few remaining senior Hamas figures in the Gaza Strip these days. Odeh was the head of Hamas's intelligence headquarters, and
His photo was first revealed by the IDF last September.
"He is still alive - and we will get to him," said IDF spokesman Brigadier General Efi Dafrin about Odeh.
Muhammad Odeh (right) with Muhammad Daf (Photo: IDF Spokesperson)
That same month, the Saudi Asharq Al-Awsat reported that Odeh had assumed command of the Northern Gaza Brigade, replacing Ahmed Randour, who was killed in November 2023. The report was not confirmed by other sources. Odeh, it was claimed, called on Hamas military wing operatives living in the northern Gaza Strip, and on displaced operatives in Gaza City, to cooperate with their"comrades in arms" from the Gaza Brigade, to unite forces, and to participate in military plans to fight against the IDF.
The seniors are less
Hamas began the war with five brigades in five sectors, a structure that it had adapted to for many years: the Northern Gaza Brigade, the Gaza City Brigade, the Central Camps Brigade, the Khan Yunis Brigade, and the Rafah Brigade. With the exception of Izz ad-Din Haddad, all of the brigades were eliminated by the IDF. For now, it is unclear whether Hamas even maintained this structure - and whether it managed to appoint brigade commanders for each of the brigades. It was previously reported that a commander named Muhand Rajab was appointed to the Gaza Brigade - but the publications have not received any verification. Battalion commanders, on the other hand, remained with it - and it was previously reported that it was also promoting senior operatives to this position.
Tawfiq Abu Naim, commander of Hamas' internal security apparatus
One of those remaining battalion commanders is Youmet Khawajari. On December 3, 2023, the IDF reported that Khawajari, commander of the Shati Battalion, was eliminated in an IDF attack. But unexpectedly,
He appeared at the "ceremony" where Keith Siegel was released
In February of this year. The IDF later explained that"after the attack, it was determined with a high degree of probability that he was eliminated - but further examination revealed that the intelligence finding was incorrect - and he was not eliminated." Before Siegel was transferred to the Red Cross, it was reported in the Gaza Strip that Khawajari was supposed to be the one to release him.
Another battalion commander whose identity has been made public - also because he was not eliminated even though it was claimed that he was - is
Hussein Fayyad
In May of last year, the IDF announced that Fayyad, commander of the Beit Hanoun Battalion, had been eliminated in a tunnel in Jabaliya. However, in January of this year, during the ceasefire at that time, he suddenly appeared at a funeral in the northern Gaza Strip, where he spoke of Gaza's victory over the IDF. Even then, after it was documented, the IDF admitted that the intelligence they relied on was inaccurate."Several months ago, the terrorist was attacked and it was determined with a high degree of probability by the IDF and Shin Bet that he had been eliminated," it said."After further examination, the intelligence finding that the Military Intelligence and Shin Bet based on that he had been eliminated was not accurate enough."
At the beginning of the war, the IDF published cards with pictures of other senior Hamas figures, and as far as is known, they were not eliminated: Faez Baroud - who was defined as a commander in Hamas' military wing and was given a card with the number 10 - in accordance with his apparent seniority; Imad Aqel, who was defined as the head of Hamas's home front headquarters and was given a card with the number 7. The list of cards also includes senior Hamas political leaders such as Khaled Mashaal, Khalil al-Hayya, Osama Hamdan and others - who live abroad.
Tawfiq Abu Naim, who commands Hamas' internal security apparatus, also still lives in the Gaza Strip. Of the political leadership, Mahmoud a-Zahar, a senior Hamas official and former Palestinian foreign minister, who is reportedly suffering from dementia, lives in the Gaza Strip.
The senior official who was eliminated: the creator of the "Wall of Jericho"
Saad, who served as Hamas's chief of operations, was the one who wrote the plan for the invasion of Israel.
"The Wall of Jericho"
This is a general-general, front-wide and organizational-wide plan, the success of which depended on complete surprise - as indeed happened on October 7, 2023 - and almost all the forces of the military wing were activated, about 40,000 people, led by the Nuhva. Its first stage was a massive and timed infiltration of Hamas forces into Israeli territory across the entire width of the sector, while activating all the formations and means at their disposal - fighters (Nuhva), engineering teams, air defense, anti-tank, artillery, drones, paragliders and naval forces.
Throughout the Iron Sword War, Israel attempted several times to eliminate Saad, but without success. Also, in March 2024, the IDF announced, apparently by mistake, that Saad had been arrested in a raid on Shifa Hospital. Only a few days later did Israel announce that this was a mistake and that he had not been arrested.
According to the IDF, in recent times, Saad has been involved in attempts to restore and produce weapons for Hamas. His importance in Israel's eyes is reflected in the high price placed on his head in flyers distributed in the Gaza Strip during the war: $800,000 for anyone who leads to his capture - like Muhammad Sinwar, and more than what was given to Izz ad-Din Haddad and the other Hamas commanders. When Muhammad Sinwar was eliminated, some believed that he would be appointed as his replacement, but it seems that in light of the Hamas leadership's desire to maintain peace at home, it was decided to appoint Haddad.
