Defense Minister Israel Katz praised the IDF and ISA (Shin Bet) this evening (Saturday) for the targeted killing of Mohammed Sinwar, brother of Yahya Sinwar and commander of Hamas’s military wing. “Our long arm will reach everyone responsible for the horrors of October 7,” he stated. At the same time, he openly named the next two terrorists marked for elimination: Ezz al-Din al-Haddad, the Gaza City Brigade Commander, and Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’s deputy leader, who operates comfortably outside the Gaza Strip.
IDF Spokesperson strikes directly: “Are you even hungry?”
In parallel, IDF Arabic-language spokesperson Colonel Avichay Adraee released a video in which he directly addressed senior Hamas figures, including Sami Abu Zuhri, Osama Hamdan, and Khalil al-Hayya. In an unusually personal appeal, Adraee challenged them:
“Where are you? In luxury hotels?
Sami – you’re sleeping on silk in Algeria.
Osama – are you hungry? Of course not.
Khalil – you’re living the good life.
Have you really become so indifferent to the people of Gaza?”
He concluded with a stark warning: “Eid al-Adha is approaching—fear Allah.”
דובר צה”ל בערבית אביחי אדרעי להנהגת חמאס חוץ: “איפה אתם? רעבים? ברור שלא!” pic.twitter.com/TdGGDuUBvB
— almog boker (@bokeralmog) May 31, 2025
Who’s “next in line”?
Khalil al-Hayya – moving between Beirut and Doha: Born in Gaza in 1960, al-Hayya was released from Israeli prison in the 1990s and climbed the ranks of Hamas. Since the start of the war, he has been shuttling between Lebanon and Qatar. Al-Hayya has overseen Hamas’s foreign delegations and has become one of the group’s most prominent spokesmen on the hostage issue.
Since being appointed deputy to Yahya Sinwar in 2021, he has been considered a top-priority target familiar to the IDF. Security officials identify him as responsible for strategic coordination between Hamas’s internal and external leadership—and now, he’s “in the crosshairs.”
Ezz al-Din al-Haddad – the brutal ruler of Gaza:
Al-Haddad, commander of Hamas’s Gaza City Brigade, is regarded as the most senior remaining Hamas commander inside the Strip. According to the IDF, twelve Hamas battalions operated under his command—most of them now destroyed. Six battalion commanders served under him; four have already been eliminated.
Al-Haddad played a leadership role in orchestrating the October 7 massacre and is seen as a potential successor to Sinwar—no less extreme than his predecessor.
“Your end will come if you insist on continuing”
In recent weeks, Israeli military officials have warned that al-Haddad will also be eliminated if he does not surrender. Adraee has already delivered a direct message: “Your end will come if you insist on continuing.”
Taken together, the Defense Minister’s political statements and Adraee’s Arabic-language videos—alongside the ongoing intensive military operations in Gaza—reflect Israel’s integrated strategy: undermining Hamas’s legitimacy, continuing precise targeted eliminations, and addressing Arab and Muslim public opinion to influence it directly.
