Izz al-Din Haddad, commander of Hamas’s Northern Brigade, oversaw Sunday’s transfer of three Israeli hostages to the Red Cross and is viewed as a rising figure as the terror group looks to rebuild itself.
Haddad, who helped plan and command the October 7 attacks, is currently tasked with rebuilding Hamas’s civilian governance and military capabilities, opening government offices, recruiting police volunteers, and managing the Netzarim corridor.
An estimated 20,000 terrorists from Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other terror groups have been killed in the war.
Haddad gained prominence during the seven-week war in Gaza in 2014 following Hamas’s kidnap and murder of three Israeli teens. On July 20, 2014, Haddad led a battle in which Hamas ambushed an Israeli armored personnel carrier in Shejayakilling seven soldiers and capturing the body of Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul.
Shaul’s body was recovered by Israeli forces on Sunday.
After the battle, Haddad was promoted to commander of Hamas’s Gaza Brigade, and he continued rising through the terror group’s ranks.
Haddad was elevated to oversee Gaza’s northern and central regions after Ahmed al-Ghandour was eliminated in a November 2023 airstrike.
Israeli officials view Haddad as the successor to Mohammed Deif, who was killed in an airstrike in July.
Yahya Sinwar’s brother Mohammed, is Hamas’s de facto leader in Gaza.
Following Sunday’s return of hostages Doron Steinbrecher, Romi Gonen and Emily Damari, Israel released 90 imprisoned Palestinian terrorists to their homes in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem.
During the first phase of the ceasefire, Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian terrorists in exchange for 30 captives. The exact number of terrorists released will depend on how many of the hostages are alive.