Hamas confirms death of military chief Mohammed Odeh; defiant funeral held in Gaza City

Hamas on Wednesday confirmed thedeathof Mohammed Odeh, the newly appointed head of the terror group’s military wing, who Israel killed in a strike in Gaza City \. According to the terror group, Odeh’s wife and two of his children were also killed in the Israel Defense Forces’ strike in Gaza City on Tuesday. A funeral for the Hamas leader and his family was held Wednesday. Odeh had assumed the top role in Gaza just 11 days before he was killed, after Israel assassinated his predecessor Izz al-Din al-Haddad earlier this month. The terror group’s statement did not say who would succeed Odeh as head of Hamas’s military wing. In statements announcing his death on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said Odeh was head of Hamas intelligence during the October 7, 2023, attacks, which sparked the war in Gaza. Israel has killed dozens of Hamas leaders and military officials since the start of the war, with the premier and other top officials repeatedly vowing to kill or capture anyone who was involved in attacks. The IDF said Odeh played a central role in planning and coordinating the October 7 onslaught and later directed attacks and intelligence operations against troops throughout the war. Sources close to Hamas said Odeh was possibly the last remaining living member of the Hamas armed wing’s higher leadership council from before the war. Odeh, estimated to be in his late 40s to early 50s, grew up in Gaza and was reported to have been involved with Hamas his whole life. In the past, he was involved with the group’s security unit that sought out Israeli spies. Israel previously targeted Odeh several times, including a strike on his father’s house in Gaza in 2025 that killed his eldest son, Amr. The security agencies described Odeh as one of the last remaining senior Hamas military commanders involved in orchestrating the October 7 massacre, saying his killing deals a “significant blow” to the group’s efforts to rebuild. The funeral for the slain terror leader and his family members was held in Gaza City, as mourners carried their bodies, covered in white burial shrouds and Hamas flags, past buildings that were bombed out during Israel’s two-year bombardment of the Strip’s largest city. Two of the bodies had assault rifles on them. Abu Al-Abd Odeh, one of Odeh’s relatives, said Israel’s campaign would not stop Palestinians from rising up. “This journey will not stop and the struggle of the Palestinian people will continue on all levels,” he said at a mosque in Gaza City during the funeral. Gaza health officials say the strike that killed Odeh and his family members left at least three others dead and more than 20 wounded. The strike destroyed the upper floor of an apartment building in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City. Rescue workers dug through the rubble for more possible casualties earlier on Wednesday. The military posted footage of what it said was the strike that killed Odeh. Despite the ceasefire that has been in place in Gaza since October, Israel has kept up its campaign against the perpetrators of the October 7, 2023, massacre, with areportlast week in the Wall Street Journal saying it has created a list of all Palestinians who took part in the attack and is working to kill or arrest each one. Along with al-Haddad and Odeh, the IDF announced last week it killed a Hamas operative who invaded Israel on October 7, without naming him. Since the October truce, Israel has killed some 900 Palestinians in Gaza, according to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Four Israeli soldiers have been killed by Hamas during the same period, the military says. THIS MONTH ONLY:Join our reader support group for as little as$6/monthand receive an exclusive tote bag featuring one of Israel’s native birds. Choose between theDuchifat(orange), Israel's national bird, or theShaldag(blue), a beloved symbol of the Israeli landscape. As a member of the Times of Israel Community,you'll also enjoy: We’re really pleased that you’ve readXTimes of Israel articlesin the past month. That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world. So now we have a request.Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joiningThe Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of IsraelAD-FREE, as well as accessingexclusive contentavailable only to Times of Israel Community members. Thank you,David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel