Khaberni - Israel announced today, Tuesday, the assassination of Ezzedine Al-Baik, the commander of the North Gaza Strip Brigade in the Al-Qassam Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, in a drone strike on Gaza City.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement that the targeted leader was "involved in planning attacks against Israeli forces, and worked on recruiting new elements into the movement".
Palestinian sources confirmed the assassination and said that the martyr Al-Baik took over the command of the North Brigade in Al-Qassam during the war, succeeding the leader Ahmad Al-Ghandour.
Palestinian sources clarified that an Israeli raid targeted a residential apartment, early today, in the Al-Nasr neighborhood west of Gaza City.
Palestinian media reported that Israeli drones carried out 3 strikes on an apartment in Al-Batoul building, near the Lababidi and Al-Nasr intersection west of the city.
The Israeli army announced on May 27, 2023, targeting Al-Baik with a violent air strike carried out by its warplanes, on a house in the center of Gaza City, resulting in the martyrdom of 10 Palestinians including 4 children, and injuring more than 20, while he survived the assassination attempt.
"Breaker of the Generals' Plan"
Ezzedine Al-Baik is considered one of the most prominent military leaders of the Al-Qassam Brigades in North Gaza Strip, described by Hamas as the "Breaker of the Generals' Plan," referring to the plan executed by the Israeli army in 2024 to control the north of the strip and displace its residents to the south.
According to sources in Hamas speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Al-Baik (born in 1981) joined the movement early, growing up in Al-Ouda Mosque in the middle of Jabalia camp, before joining the Al-Qassam Brigades in 2000 alongside the commanders Suhail Ziyada and Abu Anas Al-Ghandour (the previous commander of the North Brigade in Al-Qassam Brigades).
Commander of the first special unit
Al-Baik quickly emerged, according to the source, within the military work due to his field capabilities, as he took command of the first special unit of the North Brigade and supervised the execution of special tasks and commando operations announced by the brigades.
He played a pivotal role in commanding the military operations of Al-Qassam during the Israeli attack on North Gaza in 2004, which Israel called "Days of Penitence", and was counteracted by the Palestinian factions with the "Days of Fury" operation that lasted 17 days, witnessed dozens of clashes and ambushes, missile launches, and ended with the withdrawal of the Israeli forces without achieving their declared goals.
He also played a prominent role during the war launched by Israel on the Gaza Strip in 2008, which Israel called "Cast Lead" and the Palestinian factions named "Battle of Furqan".
Al-Baik led the "Martyr Imad Aqel" battalion, affiliated with Al-Qassam west of Jabalia camp, for 10 consecutive years, and managed it during the 2012 war which Israel called "Pillar of Defense" and the resistance named "Stones of Baked Clay".
His role in the "Aqsa Flood" battle
As part of his leadership duties, Al-Baik held the position of military intelligence corner in the North Brigade and was responsible for gathering information related to the targets of the Israeli army, as well as playing a prominent role in preparing intelligence and operational plans for the attack on October 7, 2023, according to the same source.
Israel accuses him of being behind the operation targeting a military jeep with a Kornet missile east of Gaza during the events of "Edge of the Sword", which followed the exposure of Al-Qassam Brigades to an infiltration of a special Israeli unit from "Sayeret Matkal" to east Khan Younis, an operation that led to the martyrdom of Nour Baraka, one of the leaders of Al-Qassam in the city.
According to the same source, Al-Baik led the defensive plan that followed what is known as the "Generals' Plan", contributing, according to the source, to heavy losses among the Israeli occupation forces through a series of operations announced by the Al-Qassam Brigades, and leading to the failure of the Israeli army to achieve its goals.
Following the martyrdom of the commander of the North Brigade in the Al-Qassam Brigades, Ahmad Al-Ghandour on November 26, 2023, Al-Baik took over the command of the brigade early in the second month of the war, where he supervised the execution of military operations in the areas of Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia, Jabalia camp, and Jabalia town.
