Overview
- Israeli military and the Shin Bet confirmed that Mohammed Odeh was killed in a Gaza City airstrike that Hamas also confirmed Tuesday, and Hamas said Odeh’s wife and children were killed in the same attack.
- The IDF said the operation followed months of intelligence tracking and hit several buildings used as hideouts in central Gaza City near a market on the eve of Eid al-Adha.
- Israeli leaders described Odeh as a longtime Hamas intelligence chief and one of the architects of the October 7, 2023 attacks; Israel says he was the fourth person it has killed as head of the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades since the war began.
- Thousands attended funerals in Gaza City as health officials reported civilian deaths and injuries from the strike, underscoring the high humanitarian toll and the fragility of the October ceasefire.
- Odeh’s death widens a leadership vacuum inside Hamas’s armed wing and raises the prospect of further targeted operations, possible retaliation and continued strain on the ceasefire as Israel seeks to prevent the group’s command from being rebuilt.