Hamas has confirmed the death of its armed wing chief, Mohammad Odeh, who was killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza City, according to the Israeli military and Gaza health officials.
Odeh was killed on Tuesday night (26 May) in what Israel described as a targeted operation. Gaza health officials and his family said the strike hit an apartment building in the Rimal district, also killing his wife and son.
Dozens of Palestinians carried Odeh’s body through the streets of Gaza City on Wednesday in a funeral procession that passed through heavily damaged neighbourhoods still scarred by months of fighting.
His body, along with those of his wife and son, was carried through streets lined with bombed-out buildings as mourners gathered to pay their respects.
The Israeli military said Odeh was a senior Hamas figure involved in the group’s intelligence structure and was killed in a precision strike.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Odeh had led Hamas’ intelligence division during the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel and had recently been appointed to replace a senior commander killed earlier this month.
Just over a week before Odeh’s death, his predecessor, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, was also killed in an Israeli strike as part of Israel’s continued campaign against Hamas leadership.
Sources close to Hamas said Odeh may have been the last remaining senior member of the group’s armed wing leadership council.
Gaza health officials said the strike that killed Odeh, his wife and son also killed at least three other people and wounded more than 20. Rescue teams continued searching through rubble on Wednesday.
At the funeral, a relative, Abu al-Abd Odeh, said the killing would not end Palestinian resistance.
“This journey will not stop and the struggle of the Palestinian people will continue on all levels,” he said at a mosque in Gaza City.
Israel has said its operations are aimed at Hamas commanders involved in the 7 October attacks and at preventing further threats.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said Hamas would no longer control Gaza and suggested that plans for what he called “voluntary migration” could be implemented “at the right time and in the right way”.
Palestinians and rights groups have rejected such proposals, viewing them as forced displacement.
Since the ceasefire in October, Gaza health authorities say around 900 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes, while Israel says four of its soldiers have died in the same period.
Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas on the next phase of the ceasefire remain stalled, including proposals on Hamas disarmament and Israeli troop withdrawals.
A drone strike that sparked fires on two gas vessels in Egypt's Mediterranean port of Damietta has raised a new threat to shipping through the Suez Ca...
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have welcomed Jordan's proposal to convene a meeting of Arab and Islamic countries to address the worsening situation in Pal...
At least 18 coal miners have been killed and 14 others remain trapped after a powerful methane gas explosion caused part of a mining complex to collap...
French DJ and electropop musician Kavinsky, whose atmospheric sound shaped a generation of electronic music fans, has died at the age of 50, French authorities said on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia said its overnight strikes on Iran-backed group targets in Iraq were carried out in self-defence and warned it would take further military action if the groups launched new attacks against the kingdom.
The U.S. military said it completed its latest wave of strikes on Iran, a two-hour operation that hit dozens of targets. Washington described the strikes as a "powerful response" to Iranian missile attacks targeting U.S. forces in the Middle East a day earlier.
A fire involving two gas vessels at Egypt's Damietta port has prompted conflicting reports over whether the incident was caused by a drone strike or an onboard technical fault. Egyptian authorities said there were no casualties.
The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck Japan’s southwestern Kumamoto prefecture has risen to 30, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Thursday, as water and power shortages left survivors exposed to extreme summer heat.
A drone strike that sparked fires on two gas vessels in Egypt's Mediterranean port of Damietta has raised a new threat to shipping through the Suez Canal, one of the last major export routes available to Saudi oil amid the expanding U.S.-Iran war.
The U.S. military said it completed its latest wave of strikes on Iran, a two-hour operation that hit dozens of targets. Washington described the strikes as a "powerful response" to Iranian missile attacks targeting U.S. forces in the Middle East a day earlier.
Saudi Arabia said its overnight strikes on Iran-backed group targets in Iraq were carried out in self-defence and warned it would take further military action if the groups launched new attacks against the kingdom.
Yemen warned the Houthis were seeking to replicate Iran's Strait of Hormuz strategy in the Red Sea, as U.S. President Donald Trump said there was a "good chance" of a deal with Tehran but warned strikes could resume if talks failed.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that there is a good chance” of reaching a deal with Iran, but warned that Washington would resume military operation if negotiations fail.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment