The IDF on Thursday released new images of Izz al-Din Haddad, the de facto head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, revealing a dramatically altered appearance as he continues to evade Israeli forces.

Haddad, who commands Hamas’ Gaza City Brigade, assumed leadership of the terror organization in the enclave following the death of Muhammad Sinwar in May. The photo was reportedly discovered by Israeli troops inside a Hamas tunnel running beneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis — the same location where Muhammad Sinwar was killed.

The IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Col. Avichay Adraee, posted the photo on X, highlighting a “drastic change” in Haddad’s appearance. Adraee suggested the transformation signaled “deep fear and a desire to disguise and disappear.”

“This is what Izz al-Din Haddad looks like today,” Adraee wrote. “The significant changes Haddad made to his familiar face suggest his cowardice and his decision to alter his external identity. It also shows that the false ‘starvation’ Hamas is marketing to the world probably did not reach Haddad.”

Adraee further said Haddad was attempting to maintain a heroic image among Palestinians, while in reality hiding in fear underground as Gaza continues to suffer the devastation brought on by the war.

“Haddad is the last remnant of the leadership that brought disaster upon Gaza and is collapsing the entire Shiite axis,” Adraee said. “Perhaps the shame that arose from the destruction Hamas brought caused him to change his external appearance so significantly?”

The spokesperson concluded by questioning how Gazans — many of whom are displaced and living in tents — would respond to the image of a leader who “destroys the Strip, hides in fear in tunnels, and changes his external identity.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)