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

Israel’s military struck Mohammed Odeh, the leader of Hamas’s military wing in Gaza, in a targeted attack on Tuesday night, local time, as Palestinians prepared for Eid al-Adha.

Hamas confirmed the killing of Odeh, his wife, and two of his sons in a strike that targeted a residential building in Gaza City the previous day, and the BBC reported that the upper three floors of the al-Kayali building were hit.

Al Jazeera

The BBC said Israel’s military and Shin Bet targeted buildings that served as a hideout for Odeh after his movements were tracked for several months, and it quoted an IDF and Shin Bet statement describing a joint operation to eliminate him.

In the same period, the Jerusalem Post reported an earlier IDF strike in northern Gaza that targeted two senior Hamas commanders, including northern Gaza brigade commander Ezz al-Din Beik and Gaza City deputy brigade commander Imad Aslim, while Israeli security officials awaited final confirmation that both had been killed.

After Odeh’s death, dozens of Palestinians carried his body through the streets of Gaza in a funeral procession on Wednesday, and the BBC said a funeral was held after noon prayers at a mosque in Gaza City.

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz called Odeh "one of the architects" of the October 7, 2023, attacks that triggered over two years of war in Gaza, and the BBC reported Netanyahu’s office said Odeh was "one of the architects of the October 7 massacre".

Al Jazeera

The AP report cited by PennLive said at least five people were killed and 12 injured in Tuesday’s strike on a market, while Al Jazeera said Hamas confirmed Odeh and his family were killed in the residential building strike.

The BBC also described how rescue teams struggled to reach the upper floors because of the scale of the damage and congestion in the area, and it said witnesses reported at least five missiles struck the building almost simultaneously from different directions.

The BBC said that despite the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreed in October, violence in Gaza has continued on a near-daily basis, and it reported that Israel has conducted regular strikes across Gaza since a ceasefire began on 10 October.

Al Jazeera said the killing of Odeh came as a fragile “ceasefire” comes under growing strain, and it added that since the so-called “ceasefire” took effect on October 11, at least 906 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed.

In the same reporting, the Jerusalem Post said southern Command officials assessed that Hamas’s military wing may avoid publicly announcing its next commander, fearing that the successor could also be targeted.

Israel’s stated objective in the BBC account was to prevent Hamas from governing Gaza "either civilly or militarily," and the BBC reported that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would "continue to pursue anyone who took part in the October 7 massacre".