Israel on Tuesday evening carried out a strike in the Gaza Strip targeting new Hamas military chief Mohammed Odeh, 11 days after killing his predecessor.
Gaza’s civil defense agency, which operates as a rescue service under Hamas, reported at least three people were killed and 20 wounded in the strike in the Rimal neighborhood of western Gaza City.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas or official confirmation from Israel that Odeh was dead. Hebrew media outlets cited initial assessments indicating the strike was successful, with an Israeli source telling the Kan public broadcaster that Odeh was killed.
A joint statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said Odeh was head of Hamas intelligence during the October 7, 2023, attacks, and last week was appointed to succeed Izz al-Din al-Haddad as the terror group’s leader in the Gaza Strip and chief of its military wing.
Al-Haddad was killed in a similar strike in Gaza City on May 15.
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“Odeh was responsible for the murder, abduction and injury of many Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers,” said Netanyahu and Katz.
مدينة غزة هذه اللحظات.. الاحتلال استهدف عمارة سكنية بحي الرمال غرب مدينة غزة.
هذا الشارع يشهد ليلة العيد، ومنذ عدة ليالي ازدحاما كبيرا بالناس، كونها منطقة تجارية.. حتى اللحظة نقل شهداء ومصابين pic.twitter.com/wo9DLENSfA
— Mohammed Haniya (@mohammedhaniya) May 26, 2026
According to the Saudi A-Sharq Al-Awsat outlet, Odeh was close to al-Haddad and worked with him to “renew the organizational structure” of Hamas following the assassination of its former leaders Muhammad Deif and Muhammad Sinwar during the war sparked by the October 7 invasion of southern Israel.
Citing a source familiar with the details, the report said Odeh was initially approached to lead the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades following Sinwar’s assassination in May 2025, but declined. However, the two other sources said they could not confirm that it was the case. Sinwar’s brother Yahya was the head of Hamas before being killed by the IDF in May 2024.
The report added that Odeh was tasked with gathering intelligence on IDF bases near the Gaza border and on weak points in the military’s Gaza Division in the run-up to October 7.
Odeh, estimated to be in his late 40s to early 50s, grew up in Gaza and was reported to have been involved with Hamas his whole life. In the past, he was involved with the group’s security unit that sought out Israeli spies.
Israel previously targeted Odeh several times, including a strike on his father’s house in Gaza in 2025 killed his eldest son, Amr.
“We will continue to pursue everyone who took part in the October 7 massacre,” said Netanyahu and Katz. “Sooner or later, Israel will reach them all.”
Troops operate in the Beit Hanoun area of the Gaza Strip, in a photo cleared for publication May 26, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)
Despite the ceasefire that has been in place in Gaza since October, Israel has kept up its campaign against the perpetrators of October 7, with a report last week in the Wall Street Journal saying it has created a list of all Palestinians who took part in the attack and is working to kill or arrest each one.
According to the report, the list includes all Gazans who were identified as having crossed the border on October 7, as well as all Hamas leaders involved in orchestrating the massacre, during which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage, mostly civilians, in the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
Along with al-Haddad and Odeh, the IDF announced last week it killed a Hamas operative who invaded Israel on October 7, without naming him.
Agencies and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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