Israel kills newly appointed Hamas armed wing chief in Gaza
An Israeli air strike in Gaza has killed Mohammed Odeh, the newly appointed chief of Hamas's armed wing, along with his wife and two children. The militant group confirmed his death, and the Israeli military said the strike was a targeted attack carried out on Tuesday night local time. The killing came just over a week after Odeh's predecessor was also reported killed in an Israeli strike.
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Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military had targeted and killed Odeh. Hamas said Odeh had been active with the group for more than three decades and was part of the first generation that helped establish its military wing. The attack took place on the eve of Eid al-Adha, a major Muslim holiday, adding to the immediate impact of the strike for families in Gaza.
Hours after Odeh's funeral, the Israeli military said it had targeted two Hamas militants in a strike in northern Gaza, without disclosing their identities. Health officials said at least seven people were killed and more than 20 wounded in that later strike on an apartment in a building in Gaza on Wednesday evening. Images from the scene showed flames pouring from an upper-floor window and bystanders carrying injured people, including children, to ambulances.
The killing of a senior Hamas military figure is significant because it comes amid an ongoing Israeli campaign against the group's leadership. Hamas said Odeh had only recently replaced Izz al-Din al-Haddad, who was also killed in an Israeli strike, underlining the pace of leadership losses inside the armed wing. The latest strikes also add to the wider toll in Gaza, where civilian casualties and repeated attacks on residential buildings continue to shape the conflict.
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The funeral procession for Odeh drew dozens of Palestinians through the streets of Gaza, with mourners carrying his body from a mosque and chanting as they marched. Some carried posters describing him as one of the chiefs of staff of the Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing. Hamas condemned the strike and said Odeh had been part of the movement's military structure since its early years, while Israeli officials said they would continue to target Hamas militant leaders.
What remains unclear is the full identity of those killed in the later northern Gaza strike and whether they were among the two Hamas militants the military said it had targeted. It is also not clear how Hamas will respond to the loss of another senior commander so soon after the death of his predecessor. The situation is likely to remain fluid as Israel continues its campaign against Hamas figures and Gaza faces further risk of civilian harm.
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