Israel on Wednesday announced that it had killed Mohammed Odeh, the newly appointed head of Hamas’s armed wing in Gaza, despite an ongoing ceasefire in the territory.
In a joint statement, the Israeli military and the Shin Bet security agency said Odeh was killed in an airstrike carried out on Tuesday in Gaza City. According to Israel, Odeh had recently taken over leadership of the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades following the reported killing of Ezzedine al-Haddad on May 15.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed the operation, saying the commander of Hamas’s armed wing had been “eliminated”.
A Hamas source told AFP that Odeh’s wife and two children were also killed in the strike. Funeral arrangements were expected to take place on Wednesday in Gaza City.
Although Hamas never officially announced Odeh as the new brigades chief, he had long headed the group’s intelligence operations in Gaza and was regarded as one of its most senior surviving figures.
A Gaza security source said intense Israeli bombardment hit western Gaza City on Tuesday night, fuelling speculation that Odeh was the target of the operation.
Katz also reiterated Israel’s commitment to eliminating individuals linked to Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, warning that those involved were “marked for death”.
Since the start of the Gaza war, Israel has targeted several senior Hamas leaders, including Mohammed Deif, Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Sinwar, and former political chief Ismail Haniyeh.
The Israeli minister also referenced plans involving the relocation of Gaza residents, an idea previously backed by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Earlier this year, the United Nations condemned proposals aimed at permanently altering Gaza’s demographics.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that six people were killed in separate Israeli strikes in Gaza City’s Rimal neighbourhood on Tuesday night.
According to figures cited by AFP, Hamas’s October 7 attack killed 1,221 people in Israel, while Gaza’s health ministry says Israel’s military response has killed more than 72,800 people in the Palestinian territory since the war began.