Israel Kills Hamas Commander Mohammed Auda in Gaza Airstrike, Hamas Confirms

Hamas confirmed the death of Mohammed Auda, describing him as the new commander of the al-Qassam Brigades, after Israel announced his assassination in an airstrike on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday evening.

“Toggle Play Family mourn ‘Hamas leader’ killed in Israeli attack A funeral has been held for Mohammed Odeh, believed to be the leader of Hamas’s military wing, who Israel said was killed in a strike on a busy area in Gaza City on Tuesday”

Al Jazeera

The BBC reported that the Tuesday strike hit the top three floors of the Kaiali Building in central Gaza City, where streets were crowded with shoppers preparing for Eid al-Adha, and that witnesses said at least five rockets struck the building almost simultaneously from different directions.

Al Jazeera

Hamas said in its Wednesday statement that Auda died on Tuesday evening alongside his wife and two of his children in an Israeli bombardment on the city of Gaza, while the BBC also reported that a local Hamas source told the BBC later on Tuesday that Auda and his wife were killed.

The BBC added that paramedics and witnesses said at least three Palestinians were killed and dozens more wounded in the strike that targeted a residential building in one of the busiest market areas in Gaza City, with rescue teams facing difficulty reaching the upper floors due to the extent of the destruction and crowding in the area.

Israel and Hamas both framed the strike through competing claims about responsibility and intent, with the BBC saying the Israeli army and the Shin Bet said the buildings had been used as a hideout for Auda and were struck after tracking his movements for several months.

In a statement, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Auda was "one of the architects of the Oct. 7 massacre" and that he was responsible for killing, kidnapping, and injuring many Israeli civilians and soldiers.

Al-Jazeera Net

The BBC also reported that Netanyahu said Israel will continue to pursue everyone who participated in the Oct. 7 massacre, adding: "Sooner or later, Israel will reach them all."

CNN Arabic reported that Israel announced on Tuesday it targeted Mohammad Awda, the new commander of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, eleven days after killing his predecessor, and said the raid occurred west of Gaza City and killed at least three people and wounded more than ten others, according to Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital.

The BBC said that despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October, violence in Gaza has continued at a near-daily pace, and it cited the Gaza health ministry, run by Hamas, saying more than 900 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes during the ceasefire.

“Who was Mohammed Odeh, Hamas military commander killed by Israel in Gaza”

Al-Monitor

The BBC also reported that the later stages of the US-led peace plan for Gaza have not yet been implemented and have stalled since the United States and Israel began a war with Iran in February, with the United States announcing the start of Phase Two in January to oversee a technocratic transitional administration to govern Gaza alongside disarmament and rebuilding.

France 24 reported that Hamas confirmed the death of 'the great commander Mohammed Awda' in an Israeli airstrike, while also noting that sources close to Hamas did not confirm Awda's appointment as a new military commander but agreed he was viewed as the likely successor to Haddad.

In the same France 24 report, Gaza's Civil Defense reported three deaths, including a woman, and at least 20 others wounded in the Al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City, underscoring how the strike and its aftermath unfolded during the ongoing ceasefire.