Israel says senior Hamas commander Mohammed Odeh was killed in a targeted overnight strike in Gaza City…reports Asian Lite News Desk
Israel has announced that senior Hamas military commander Mohammed Odeh was killed in an overnight airstrike in Gaza City, describing the operation as a major setback for the militant group’s leadership structure.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the strike was carried out jointly by the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency after months of surveillance and intelligence gathering.
In a post on X, Katz described Odeh as the “fourth commander” of Hamas’s military wing in Gaza to be eliminated during the conflict.
“The fourth commander of the Hamas terror organisation’s military wing in Gaza was eliminated yesterday and sent to meet his partners in the depths of hell,” Katz said.
According to Israeli officials, Odeh had only recently taken over leadership of Hamas’s military wing following the killing of Izz al-Din al-Haddad earlier this month.
Reports emerging from Gaza and affiliated with Hamas said Odeh was killed alongside his wife and sons during the strike.
Israeli authorities said several buildings in Gaza City allegedly being used as hideouts by Odeh and his associates were targeted during the overnight operation.
In a joint statement, the IDF and Shin Bet said the strike also hit an apartment belonging to another Hamas operative who was allegedly involved in the October 7 attacks on Israel.
According to Israeli security agencies, Odeh previously headed Hamas intelligence operations before becoming the group’s military chief last week.
The agencies accused him of playing a central role in planning and coordinating Hamas’s October 7 assault on Israel and later overseeing attacks and intelligence operations against Israeli troops during the ongoing war in Gaza.
Israeli officials described Odeh as one of the last senior Hamas military leaders believed to have been directly linked to orchestrating the October 7 attacks.
The Israeli military said his killing represented a “significant blow” to Hamas’s efforts to regroup and rebuild its military capabilities after months of conflict.
Praising the operation, Katz said Israel remained committed to targeting all those involved in the October 7 attacks.
“We pledged to eliminate everyone who led the October 7 massacre, and that is what we will do,” Katz was quoted as saying by The Times of Israel.
“They are all marked for death, everywhere,” he added.
Katz also reiterated Israel’s broader objective of dismantling Hamas’s rule in Gaza and advancing what he described as a plan for “voluntary emigration” from the Palestinian enclave.
“Everything at the right time and in the right manner,” he said.
The latest strike comes as fighting continues across Gaza amid ongoing Israeli operations targeting Hamas infrastructure and leadership following the October 7 attacks, which triggered the current conflict.
