Israeli security officials believe Hamas Gaza chief Izz ad-Din al-Haddad exposed himself to Israeli intelligence by abandoning his own operational security procedures, which allowed the IDF to locate and kill him in a May 2026 strike in Gaza City.

Officials said al-Haddad, who had spent months in hiding, broke several of the security rules he had imposed on himself and his associates during the war.

Among the mistakes attributed to him was leaving Hamas’ extensive underground tunnel network and appearing above ground in an effort to project authority publicly while Israeli attention was focused elsewhere.