Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the current leader of Hamas in Gaza, said recently that he will either achieve an “honorable deal” to end the war in Gaza or else it will be “a war of liberation or a war of martyrdom,” according to the New York Times. The paper reported that he was heavily involved in the current ceasefire negotiations.
On Thursday, IDF spokesperson Effi Defrin was asked who was calling the shots in Hamas and he named al-Haddad. "He is in northern Gaza and I will not say any more," Defrin said.
Western Intelligence officials quoted in the Times' report said Haddad, who is the last senior member of Hamas to survive the war and Israel's targeted killings, was in Gaza City. He had survived at least six assassination attempts and was among the more prominent leaders of the Hamas military wing.
Haddad, who is in his 50s, took part in the October 7 massacre. He speaks Hebrew and had held hostages in northern Gaza, including the female IDF lookouts who were released last January in the last ceasefire and hostage exchange deal.
Israeli-American Keith Siegel, who was freed from captivity last January, said he had met Haddad in Gaza. He asked how I was doing and if I was being treated well, in perfect Hebrew," Siegel said. "He was mostly cordial except when [Siegel's wife] Aviva went to Switzerland and said in interviews that Hamas was torturing hostages.
Siegel described a time when Haddad appeared wearing a face mask and a woolen hat. "I understood he was concerned that some of the guards could be sources for Israeli intelligence.
Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play: https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store: https://bit.ly/3ZL7iNv
Before Siegel's release, Haddad brought him a gift of chocolate to take to his wife and the two men walked together along the shoreline. "When he saw I was nervous, he said, "Be happy. You're going home."
An intelligence source who spoke with the New York Times said Haddad saw the resistance to Russia in Chechnya in the early 1990s as a model for Hamas to follow.
In the first war between the Muslim Republic and Russia, which lasted two years, the Russians did not achieve any of their military objectives and thousands of soldiers died.
Haddad is not likely to concede his demand for an end to the war and the withdrawal of IDF troops from the Strip.