The Israel Defense Forces announced Wednesday evening that it had carried out strikes against two senior terrorists in the Hamas terror organization in the northern Gaza Strip.
"A short while ago, the IDF struck two central Hamas terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip," the military stated.
According to assessments, the targeted killings were aimed at Hamas’s northern Gaza brigade commander and the deputy commander of the Gaza brigade.
Earlier Wednesday, Defense Minister Israel Katz, together with the IDF and the Shin Bet, confirmed the elimination of Mohammed Odeh, the head of Hamas’s military wing in Gaza. Oudeh was killed 10 days after the elimination of his predecessor, Izz al-Din Haddad.
Katz praised the operation, stating: “The fourth commander of Hamas’s military wing in Gaza was eliminated yesterday and sent to join his partners in the depths of hell. On behalf of the prime minister and myself, congratulations to the IDF and Shin Bet on the brilliant execution."
“We committed to eliminating everyone who led the October 7 massacre, and that is what we will do. They are all marked for death everywhere," Katz added.
According to the statement, the IDF and Shin Bet targeted several buildings in the heart of Gaza City that were allegedly being used as hiding places for Odeh, following months of intelligence tracking aimed at monitoring his movements and those of his aides. At the same time, a nearby apartment belonging to another Hamas terrorist involved in the October 7 attack and connected to Odeh’s support network was also struck.
Odeh had served as head of Hamas’s military wing for the past two weeks following Haddad’s death. In recent years, he headed Hamas’s intelligence headquarters and was responsible for planning and coordinating attack and infiltration targets used during the October 7 massacre.
Throughout the war, according to the IDF, Odeh was involved in directing numerous attacks and led Hamas’s intelligence collection and analysis efforts for terror operations against Israeli military forces and civilians. The military stated that the Hamas intelligence apparatus under his command supported the organization’s terror activities and posed an ongoing threat to Israeli forces and citizens.
The IDF described Odeh as one of the last remaining senior commanders in Hamas’s military wing who was involved in planning and executing the October 7 attacks and directing combat operations against Israeli forces. His elimination, the statement said, represents a significant blow to Hamas’s attempts to rebuild its capabilities.