Security officials also said he loosened secrecy surrounding his movements.
By Vered Weiss, world Israel News
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’s extensive underground tunnel network and appearing above ground in an effort to project authority publicly while Israeli attention was focused elsewhere.
Security officials also said he loosened secrecy surrounding his movements after previously limiting knowledge of his whereabouts to a very small inner circle.
The widening number of people aware of his locations reportedly created operational patterns that Israeli intelligence agencies were able to track.
Officials further accused al-Haddad of violating ceasefire understandings by continuing efforts to rebuild Hamas’s military wing and refusing to implement disarmament arrangements.
Security officials also said al-Haddad surrounded himself with Israeli hostages in an attempt to deter Israeli military action against him, though the strategy ultimately failed as Israeli intelligence closed in on his location.
Israeli defense officials described his killing as a major blow to Hamas’s efforts to restore its military capabilities in Gaza.
Israel’s security establishment believes the elimination of al-Haddad will significantly damage attempts to rebuild the organization’s armed wing.
Al-Haddad was regarded by Israeli officials as one of the principal architects of the October 7 massacre and a longtime builder of Hamas terror infrastructure in both Gaza and Judea and Samaria.
Walla reported that al-Haddad played a central role in improving Hamas’s attack infrastructure in Judea and Samaria, although most planned attacks were thwarted by the Shin Bet.
Israeli officials also viewed him as one of the most senior remaining operational leaders in Hamas following a series of targeted killings of senior commanders during the war.
The strike that killed al-Haddad was carried out in Gaza City earlier this month.
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