JERUSALEM: Israel said it targeted the new chief of Hamas’ armed wing in a strike in Gaza on Tuesday (May 26), just days after his predecessor was killed in a similar attack in the Palestinian territory.
“Under the direction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz, the IDF has just carried out a strike in Gaza targeting Mohammed Odeh – the new commander of the military wing of the Hamas terrorist organisation and one of the architects of the October 7 massacre,” a joint statement issued by Netanyahu and Katz said.
Odeh was appointed as chief of the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades after his predecessor Ezzedine Al-Haddad was killed in a strike in Gaza earlier in May.
Gaza’s civil defence agency, which operates as a rescue service under Hamas, said that a woman had been killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Rimal neighbourhood in western Gaza City.
“Odeh served as head of Hamas intelligence during the Oct 7 massacre and was appointed approximately one week ago as successor to Ezzedine Al-Haddad,” the statement from Netanyahu and Katz said.
“Odeh was responsible for the murder, abduction, and injury of numerous Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers,” it said.
In the aftermath of the Oct 7 assault, Netanyahu pledged to target and eliminate the masterminds behind the attacks, which, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures, resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people.
Israel’s retaliatory response in Gaza has killed at least 72,803 people, according to the territory’s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority.
The United Nations considers these figures to be reliable.
