Katz threatens to assassinate Khalil al-Hayya and a leader in the Qassam Brigades

Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz threatened on Saturday to assassinate Khalil al-Hayya, a member of Hamas's political bureau, and Izz al-Din al-Haddad, a leader in the Qassam Brigades, the movement's military wing.

This came in a statement issued by Katz's office following the Israeli occupation army's announcement that it had assassinated Qassam Brigades leader Mohammed Sinwar in a raid carried out on May 13 in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.

"Izz al-Din al-Haddad is in Gaza, and Khalil al-Hayya is abroad; you're next in line," Katz said in a statement from his office, without providing further details.

Earlier on Saturday, the Israeli military announced in a statement that it had assassinated Mohammed Sinwar in a raid carried out on May 13 in Khan Yunis. Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied the assassination.

The army claimed in a statement that it "carried out a joint operation with the General Security Service (Shin Bet) on May 13, 2025, which included warplanes carrying out raids in the Khan Yunis area, resulting in the assassination of Mohammed Sinwar, the commander of Hamas's military wing."

The statement added: "This raid also resulted in the liquidation of Mohammed Shabana, commander of the Rafah (South) Brigade in Hamas, and Mahdi Kaware', commander of the organization's southern Khan Yunis Battalion."

The army statement claimed that "the three eliminated commanders were located in an underground command and control complex located beneath the European Hospital in Khan Yunis."

Al-Hayya has served as deputy head of Hamas's political bureau since August 2024. He is also a member of the movement's leadership council and currently resides outside the Palestinian territories.

Al-Haddad is a senior commander in the Qassam Brigades, serving as commander of the Gaza City Brigade and a member of the mini-military council.

On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the army assassinated Mohammed Sinwar in the Gaza Strip on May 13.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a war of genocide in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.

The US-backed genocide left more than 178,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing. Hundreds of thousands were displaced, and a famine claimed the lives of many, including children.