Palestinians inspect the damage caused by an Israeli military operation carried out the day before on an apartment building in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza on May 26, 2026.MAJDI FATHI / NURPHOTO VIA AFP
Israel announced this Wednesday, May 27, that it had killed the new leader of the armed branch of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas targeted the day before by a strike in Gaza, despite the ceasefire supposed to be in force since October. « Le commandant de la branche armée de l’organisation terroriste Hamas à Gaza a été éliminé hier »wrote Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz in a message on the social network X. Information then confirmed by the Israeli army and the Shin Bet, the Israeli internal security agency.
Israel Katz and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Tuesday that the Israeli army had carried out during the day “A strike in Gaza targeting Mohammed Odeh”the new leader of the Ezzdine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas. Hamas has not made any statement about it at this stage. Mohammed Odeh has long headed the intelligence services of the Brigades. His appointment at their head had never been announced or confirmed.
• Former head of Hamas’s armed wing killed on May 16
The announcement of the death of Mohammed Odeh comes eleven days after that of his predecessor Ezzedine Al-Haddad. On May 16, the Israeli army announced that it had killed him during an air strike in Gaza. In their joint statement, the Israeli army and the Shin Bet wrote that Mohammed Odeh “held the position of head of Hamas’ military wing after the elimination of Ezzedine al-Haddadâ€.
The Israeli military campaign against Hamas since the attacks of October 2023 has left more than 72,700 dead in Gaza, according to figures from the territory’s Health Ministry, controlled by Hamas, deemed reliable by the United Nations.
• Main Hamas leaders killed
The day after October 7, Benjamin Netanyahu promised to track down and eliminate the masterminds of this attack which, according to an AFP count based on official figures, left 1,221 people dead in Israel, the majority of them civilians. “We are very close to completing this mission.”declared the Israeli Prime Minister, after the death of Ezzedine Al-Haddad.
“We are committed to eliminating all those who led the October 7 massacre, and that is what we will do.”reiterated Israel Katz. The minister added that Israel was determined to end Hamas’ rule in the Gaza Strip. “The voluntary migration plan from Gaza will also be implemented, everything will be done at the right time and in the right way.”he also said, alluding to a project of forced emigration of inhabitants of the Gaza Strip to third countries carried out by the far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich.
For more than two and a half years, the Israeli army and intelligence services have been waging a campaign targeting the political and military leaders of the Islamist movement in Gaza and throughout the region. Israel claimed responsibility for the assassination of several leaders of the movement, including Yahya Sinouar, widely considered the main mastermind of the October 7, 2023 attack. Israel also killed Mohammed Deif, historic leader of Hamas’s armed wing and another key architect of the attack.
