Gaza City — Israel announced Wednesday that it had killed Mohammed Odeh, the commander of Hamas’s military wing, in an air strike on Gaza City the previous evening, adding another senior figure to a growing list of Hamas leaders eliminated since the war began.
Defence Minister Israel Katz announced the killing on social media Wednesday, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israeli forces had targeted Odeh in the Tuesday night operation. The Israeli army stated the strike followed months of sustained intelligence monitoring of the target.
Hamas Military Chief Killed — Three large explosions rocked Gaza City at approximately 9:30pm local time on Tuesday, striking the Remal neighbourhood in the city’s western sector — a densely populated area lined with markets and shops. Six people were killed and 20 others wounded in the attack, according to a source at al-Shifa Hospital. The strikes came as residents were preparing for the Eid al-Adha holiday.
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Odeh, a former Hamas intelligence chief, had reportedly assumed command of the Qassam Brigades — Hamas’s armed wing — after his predecessor, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, was killed in a separate Israeli strike earlier in the month. Hamas did not officially confirm Odeh’s appointment to the leadership role before his reported death.
The Israeli military accused Odeh of playing a central role in planning and coordinating Hamas infiltration operations and attack targets during the October 7, 2023 massacre, as well as managing combat operations against Israeli Defence Forces in the months that followed.
The killing underscores Israel’s sustained campaign to dismantle Hamas’s command structure from the top down. Since the October 7 attacks, Israeli forces have eliminated a succession of the organisation’s most senior figures. Ismail Haniyeh, the former Hamas political chief, was killed during the war. Yahya Sinwar, who led Hamas in Gaza and was widely regarded as the architect of the October 7 attacks, was also killed, as was Mohammed Deif, the longtime commander of the Qassam Brigades. Mohammed Sinwar, who had succeeded his brother Yahya, was subsequently killed as well.
Odeh’s reported death comes against a backdrop of staggering human cost. Since a ceasefire took effect on October 11, at least 906 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. The cumulative death toll since October 7, 2023 now stands at 72,803, with Palestinian health authorities recording more than 72,800 killed across the duration of the conflict.
Hamas Military Chief Killed: Regional Implications
The strike on Remal illustrates the persistent tension between Israel’s targeting of militant leadership and the civilian toll exacted in densely populated urban environments. The neighbourhood, known for its commercial activity, was crowded with residents in the hours before the explosions, as families gathered ahead of the religious holiday.
Israel has consistently maintained that its operations target Hamas military infrastructure and personnel, while critics and humanitarian organisations have raised alarm over the scale of civilian casualties throughout the campaign. The war, now in its second year, has reshaped Hamas’s leadership landscape dramatically, though the organisation has demonstrated an ability to reconstitute command structures as senior figures are eliminated.
Whether the removal of Odeh — whose appointment Hamas never formally acknowledged — will meaningfully degrade the Qassam Brigades’ operational capacity remains to be seen. Israeli officials have repeatedly argued that decapitating the organisation’s military leadership is essential to achieving the war’s stated objectives, including the dismantling of Hamas’s governing and military capabilities in Gaza.
