3 min readMay 28, 2026 03:23 PM IST
A day after Israel targeted newly appointed Hamas military chief Mohammed Odeh in Gaza City, Hamas on Thursday confirmed his death, along with his wife and two children in the strike. According to The Times of Israel Hamas said Odeh was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City’s Rimal neighbourhood on Wednesday.
A funeral for the commander and his family was held on Thursday, with mourners carrying bodies wrapped in white burial shrouds and Hamas flags through streets lined with bombed-out buildings.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz had earlier said the operation had specifically targeted Odeh. The Hamas leader had assumed the top military leadership post just 11 days ago after the killing of his predecessor Izz al-Din al-Haddad in an Israeli strike on May 15.
According to Israeli officials, Odeh served as Hamas intelligence chief during the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel that triggered the ongoing war in Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said he played a major role in planning and coordinating and later oversaw attacks and intelligence operations against Israeli troops during the conflict.
Israeli security agencies described Odeh as one of the last senior Hamas military commanders linked to the October 7 attacks.
Mohammed Odeh targeted earlier
The Times of Israel report further reported that sources close to Hamas said Odeh was believed to be among the last surviving members of the group’s pre-war higher military leadership council. Estimated to be in his late 40s or early 50s, he reportedly spent most of his life within Hamas ranks and was previously involved in the organisation’s internal security operations tasked with identifying alleged Israeli informants.
Israel had targeted Odeh multiple times in the past. Earlier this year, a strike on his father’s home in Gaza reportedly killed his eldest son.
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The strike that killed Odeh also left at least three other people dead and wounded more than 20, according to Gaza health officials. Rescue workers continued searching through rubble in the aftermath of the attack.
Funeral held amid conflict
At the funeral in Gaza City, relatives of Odeh said the Palestinian struggle would continue despite Israel’s military campaign.
“This journey will not stop and the struggle of the Palestinian people will continue on all levels,” a relative, Abu Al-Abd Odeh said during the funeral prayers at a mosque in Gaza City.
The IDF later released footage it said showed the strike that killed Odeh.
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Despite a ceasefire that has formally been in place since October, Israel has continued operations targeting those allegedly involved in the October 7 attacks. Reports last week in the Wall Street Journal said Israeli authorities had compiled a list of Palestinians suspected of taking part in the assault and were seeking to kill or arrest them.
Alongside al-Haddad and Odeh, the IDF recently announced the killing of another Hamas operative accused of participating in the October 7 attacks, though it did not identify him publicly.
According to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, around 900 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire began, though the figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The Israeli military says four Israeli soldiers have been killed by Hamas during the same period.
