Palestinian reports said Tuesday morning that Izz al-Din Bikh, the commander of Hamas’ northern Gaza brigade, was killed in an Israeli strike on an apartment in Gaza City.
Bikh had survived an assassination attempt in May, when he was targeted alongside Imad Aslim, the deputy commander of Hamas’ Gaza City Brigade. Aslim was killed in that strike, while Bikh was not reported dead at the time.
Izz al-Din Bikh, the commander of Hamas’ northern Gaza brigade
Born in 1981, Bikh grew up in the Jabaliya refugee camp and joined Hamas at an early age. In 2000, he joined Hamas’ military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, alongside Suhail Ziada and Ahmed Randor, who was serving as commander of Hamas’ northern Gaza brigade when the war began.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Bikh’s killing shortly after the Palestinian reports and before an official IDF statement.
“He was involved in planning terrorist attacks against our forces and worked to recruit terrorists into the organization,” Netanyahu and Katz said.
“We commend the IDF and Shin Bet for their determined action against Hamas commanders and terrorists. We will continue to hunt and pursue all of the organization’s terrorists, from its commanders to its last operative, wherever they hide, until there is no Hamas in Gaza.”