Israel says it has killed Mohammed Odeh, the recently installed head of Hamas’ armed wing, in an airstrike on northern Gaza as Israeli forces simultaneously intensified military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon despite ceasefire agreements meant to halt both conflicts.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that Odeh was killed in a strike the previous day, and he congratulated the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel’s internal security agency for what he described as “the brilliant execution.”
On Tuesday, Israel intensified strikes across Lebanon, shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to deal a “crushing blow” to Iran-backed Hezbollah in the country. Lebanese authorities said at least 31 people had been killed and 40 more injured in the Israeli attacks.
The escalation of Israel’s operations in Lebanon, and persistent attacks on Gaza, come amid stalled U.S. and Iranian efforts to reach a peace deal that would encompass vast swaths of the Middle East.
Newsweek has contacted Hamas for confirmation of Israel’s statements.
Who Was Mohammed Odeh?
The Israeli military said Odeh was one of the final remaining senior-ranking Hamas military commanders involved in masterminding the October 7 attacks in 2023. He previously commanded Hamas’ intelligence operations, according to Israeli officials.
“His elimination constitutes a significant blow to the Hamas terrorist organization’s rehabilitation efforts,” the IDF said.
“We will continue to pursue anyone who took part in the October 7 massacre,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement published late Tuesday. “Sooner or later, Israel will reach them all.”
While Hamas has not issued an official confirmation of Odeh’s death, the group previously confirmed that Odeh’s predecessor, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, was killed in an Israeli attack less than two weeks ago.
Israel said its military had spent months tracking Odeh before hitting “terror infrastructure sites” in the center of Gaza City, the major hub in the north of the strip, where Odeh was hiding.
Three Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on a residential building west of Gaza City on Tuesday, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported.
The Israeli military said it had also struck an apartment building that had housed a member of Hamas who allegedly took part in the October 7 killings.
Ongoing Strikes Despite Ceasefires
Hamas’ October 7 attack killed about 1,200 people in Israel, with another 251 taken as hostages into Gaza. The survivors and the remains of those slain have now been returned to Israel.
Israel’s retaliatory war on Hamas in Gaza has devastated the territory, killing more than 72,800 people, according to Hamas-run health authorities.
A ceasefire that began in October 2025 stopped two years of full-scale war, but Israeli airstrikes have continued and Hamas still controls a sliver of Gaza.
An initial 45-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel was agreed in mid-April, but it was extended this month despite ongoing attacks over the border.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has called on Israel to withdraw all its forces from the country.
Israel said it had detected an unspecified projectile launched from Lebanon into northern Israel early on Wednesday, sounding alarms for residents of several areas close to the Lebanese border. The IDF later said the projectile fell in an empty area and no one was injured.
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