Israel Kills Hamas Military Wing Chief Mohammed Odeh in Gaza Air Strike

Hamas confirmed the killing of Mohammed Odeh, the leader of the Palestinian armed group’s military wing in Gaza, in an air strike in the northern part of the strip, as a fragile “ceasefire” came under growing strain.

“Hamas has confirmed the killing of Mohammed Odeh, the leader of the Palestinian armed group’s military wing in Gaza, in an air strike in the northern part of the strip, as a fragile “ceasefire” comes under growing strain”

Al Jazeera

In a statement on Wednesday, Hamas said the Israeli army killed Odeh, his wife and two of his sons in a strike that targeted a residential building in Gaza City the previous day.

Al Jazeera

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz wrote on X that “The commander of Hamas terror organisation’s military arm number 4 in Gaza was eliminated yesterday and sent to meet his partners in the depths of hell,” and the Israeli army said the killing “followed months of intelligence monitoring aimed at tracking the movements of Odeh and his operatives”.

Al Jazeera reported that a source at al-Shifa Hospital said six people were killed and 20 others wounded in Israeli attacks late on Tuesday on the Remal neighbourhood in the western part of Gaza City.

The Times of Israel said a funeral for Odeh and his family was held Wednesday in Gaza City after Hamas confirmed the death of Odeh, who had assumed the top role in Gaza just 11 days before he was killed.

Israel Katz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces had targeted Odeh, with Katz describing him as a senior commander tied to the October 7 attacks, while Hamas confirmed the deaths of Odeh, his wife and two of his sons.

The Times of Israel reported that Abu Al-Abd Odeh said Israel’s campaign would not stop Palestinians from rising up, quoting him: “This journey will not stop and the struggle of the Palestinian people will continue on all levels,”.

BBC

France 24 said Hamas’s armed wing described Odeh’s killing as “a cowardly assassination operation that resulted in the martyrdom of him, his wife, and his children,” and reported that an AK-47 was laid on Odeh’s corpse as the crowd carried him to the mosque for funerary prayers.

NBC News said a relative of Odeh confirmed his death to Reuters and said the funeral would take place after noon prayers in Gaza City, while Gaza health officials said six people were killed and more than 20 were wounded in the same Israeli strike.

CNA reported that Israel said it had killed the new head of Hamas' armed wing in Gaza, Mohammed Odeh, after killing his predecessor earlier this month despite an ongoing ceasefire, and quoted Katz saying, “We committed ourselves to eliminating everyone who led the Oct 7 massacre, and that is what we will do: they are all marked for death, wherever they may be,”.

The strike came as the ceasefire “took effect on October 11,” with Al Jazeera saying that since then “at least 906 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed,” and that the cumulative death toll since October 7, 2023, stands at 72,803 according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.

“Israel says killed new chief of Hamas armed wing in Gaza strike "We committed ourselves to eliminating everyone who led the Oct 7 massacre, and that is what we will do: they are all marked for death, wherever they may be," said Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz”

CNA

NBC News said some 900 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the truce came into effect, according to figures from Gaza health officials that do not distinguish between combatants and civilians, and it said four Israeli soldiers have been killed by militants during the same period.

CNA said Israel has killed at least 72,803 people in its retaliatory response in Gaza, according to the territory's health ministry, and it described Israel’s stated goal of ending Hamas's rule over the Palestinian territory.

BBC reported that despite a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in October, violence in Gaza continued at a near-daily pace, and it said the strike on Tuesday hit the top three floors of the Kaiali Building in central Gaza City where streets were crowded with shoppers preparing for Eid al-Adha.

Al Jazeera also said the attack targeted a busy neighbourhood as residents were preparing for the Eid al-Adha holiday, with Hind Khoudary describing “a lot of destruction” after the attack targeted a busy neighbourhood of the city as residents were preparing for the Eid al-Adha holiday.