JERUSALEM/GAZA, May 27: Israel said it has killed the commander of Hamas’s military wing, Mohammed Odeh,in a strike in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday days after his predecessor was eliminated in a similar fashion.
Mohammad Odeh was killed in an operation targeting a residential building in one of Gaza City’s busiest commercial districts, the Israeli military and domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet said.
A statement from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet said: “As part of the joint operation by the IDF and Shin Bet to eliminate the terrorist Mohammed Odeh, several buildings in the heart of Gaza City that served as a hideout for him were attacked, after months of intelligence surveillance in order to track his movements and the movements of his assistants in the organisation.”
The Prime Minister’s office of Isreal has released a statement saying at the direction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, the IDF has just struck at Mohammed Odeh in Gaza, the new leader of the military wing of the Hamas terrorist organization and “one of the architects of the October 7 massacre.”
Odeh had headed Hamas’s intelligence division during the October 7, 2023 cross-border attack that killed around 1,200 people and was appointed roughly a week ago to replace Ezzedine al-Haddad, who was eliminated in an IDF strike in the Gaza Strip two weeks ago (on May 15), Netanyahu said.
At least three Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded when five missiles struck the upper floors of the al-Kayali building simultaneously, witnesses and local medics said. Streets nearby were crowded with shoppers ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.
“As part of the joint operation by the IDF and Shin Bet to eliminate the terrorist Mohammed Odeh, several buildings in the heart of Gaza City that served as a hideout for him were attacked, after months of intelligence surveillance,” the military said in a statement.
Hamas is yet to make an official statement.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Hamas would no longer exercise civilian or military control over Gaza, and that a plan for what he termed “voluntary migration” from the enclave would be implemented “at the right time and in the right way.”
The strikes came despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that took effect on October 10. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says some 900 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the truce began, figures that do not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Four Israeli soldiers have been killed by militants over the same period, the military said.
Israel maintains it retains the right to target Hamas members and accuses the group of breaching the ceasefire by failing to disarm. Hamas has repeatedly accused Israel of violating the agreement and targeting civilians.
Broader peace negotiations remain deadlocked. A U.S.-led plan announced in January envisaged a transitional administration governing Gaza alongside demilitarisation and reconstruction, but disarmament talks have stalled and Hamas appears to be reasserting authority, having reactivated its police force.
“We will continue to pursue anyone who took part in the October 7 massacre,” Netanyahu said. “Sooner or later, Israel will reach them all.”
Odeh was responsible for the murder, abduction, and wounding of many Israeli citizens and IDF soldiers. “The IDF and the ISA have been commended for the ongoing effort to eliminate our enemies,” the statement from the PM said.
(UNI)
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