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Israel said on Wednesday it had killed the head of Hamas’ armed wing in Gaza, days after killing his predecessor, as it stepped up military pressure on Gaza and increased operations in Lebanon.
The Israeli military said Mohammad Odeh was killed during an operation in Gaza on Tuesday.
A relative of Odeh confirmed his death to Reuters and said the funeral would take place after noon prayers in Gaza City. Hamas has yet to issue an official statement, but a statement from his family said he was killed along with his wife and son.
Gaza health officials said six people, including at least one woman, were killed and more than 20 others injured in an Israeli strike that destroyed the top floor of a building in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City. Rescuers were still at the scene looking for others who may have been injured.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Odeh was leading Hamas’s intelligence unit during the October 7, 2023 Israeli attack that sparked the Gaza war and was appointed a week ago to replace Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the group’s top commander, who was killed by Israel on May 15.
Sources close to Hamas did not confirm Odeh’s appointment as the new military chief but acknowledged that he was seen as a potential successor to Haddad, as the group’s intelligence chief and possibly the last surviving member of the armed wing’s top leadership council.
An increase in attacks on both sides of the border has put the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah at risk.
A few hours before the attack, Israel announced that it had increased operations on the ground in Lebanon, where it has been fighting Hezbollah terrorists allied with Iran since it began attacking Iran and the United States at the end of February. Israel is also intensifying its military operations in the West Bank.
Israel and Hamas have reached an impasse in informal talks over implementing the second phase of a ceasefire agreement, which includes the disarmament of the group and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.
A ceasefire agreed in October left Israel in control of more than half of Gaza, while Hamas controls a small part of the coastal area.
In a statement, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Hamas would no longer be able to control civil or military forces in Gaza and that a plan for what he described as “voluntary evacuation” from the so-called Enclave would also be implemented “at the right time and in the right way.”
About 900 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the deal went into effect, according to figures from Gaza health officials who do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Four Israeli soldiers were killed by soldiers at the same time, the country’s military said.
Israel has killed dozens of Hamas leaders and military officers since the Gaza war began, and has vowed to kill or arrest anyone it says is involved in the October 7, 2023, attack.
Hamas does not disclose the number of casualties among its fighters. Israel says its post-ceasefire strikes are aimed at preventing attacks or preventing people from approaching its fighting line against Hamas.
More than 72,000 Gazans have been killed since the war began in October 2023, most of them civilians, according to Gaza health authorities. Israel says it is taking extraordinary measures to avoid civilian casualties.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in Israel killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli statistics.
