Less than two weeks after the death of his predecessor, Israel claims to have eliminated Mohammed Odeh, presented as the new head of Hamas's armed wing. This strike marks a new stage in the Israeli campaign targeting the military leaders of the Palestinian movement in Gaza.
A targeted strike in northern Gaza
Israel announced on Wednesday that it had killed Mohammed Odeh in a strike carried out the previous day in the northern Gaza Strip. He was described by the Israeli army as the new head of Hamas's military wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades.
The operation reportedly targeted several buildings used as hideouts after months of surveillance of his movements. The strike follows a series of targeted attacks against Hamas's military leadership.
A leader appointed just a few days ago
Mohammed Odeh took over as head of Hamas's armed wing after the death of Ezzedine al-Haddad, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on May 15. His appointment made him one of Israel's most wanted men in the Palestinian enclave. He was a former Hamas intelligence official and a figure implicated in the October 7, 2023 attack against Israel.
Civilian casualties reported
The strike hit an urban area of Gaza. Palestinian reports indicate several deaths and numerous injuries. The figures vary: an initial report indicated at least three deaths and twelve injuries, while another report cited six deaths and more than twenty injuries. This attack has reignited criticism of strikes carried out in densely populated areas, as Gaza's population remains largely displaced and dependent on humanitarian aid after more than two years of war.
A major blow to Hamas's chain of command
The reported death of Mohammed Odeh will further weaken Hamas's military structure in Gaza. In just a few days, Israel claims to have eliminated two successive leaders of the movement's armed wing. This rapid succession of strikes demonstrates Israel's priority on the operational decapitation of Hamas: depriving the movement of its leadership, disrupting its networks, and preventing a lasting rebuilding of its military capabilities.
A war that still has no clear political solution
The war in Gaza began after the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people in Israel and resulted in the abduction of some 250. Since then, Palestinian losses have numbered in the tens of thousands, with more than 72,000 deaths recorded by Gaza health authorities, who do not differentiate between civilians and combatants in their figures.
