Israel kills Hamas military chief tied to Oct. 7 attack

The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday eliminated Mohammed Odeh, the new head of Hamas’ military wing and a key figure in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed his elimination on Wednesday, writing in an X post that he was “sent to meet his partners in the depths of hell” and congratulating the IDF and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) “for the brilliant execution” of the operation. This was followed shortly thereafter by a joint IDF and Shin Bet statement also confirming Odeh’s elimination.

“As part of the joint IDF and ISA operation to eliminate the terrorist Mohammed Odeh, terror infrastructure sites in the heart of Gaza City that Odeh used to hideout were struck. This followed months of intelligence monitoring aimed at tracking the movements of Odeh and his operatives. Simultaneously, a nearby apartment belonging to a Hamas terrorist who infiltrated Israel on October 7, and was part of Odeh’s circle of operatives, was struck,” the IDF and Shin Bet said.

The morning confirmations followed a joint statement on Tuesday night with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Katz that Israeli forces carried out a strike in Gaza targeting the terror leader.

In a statement, they said that Odeh had led Hamas’ intelligence unit during the Oct. 7 massacre, and had been appointed about a week earlier to replace Izz al-Din al-Haddad, who was killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza on May 15. He was accused of involvement in killings, abductions and injuries of Israeli civilians and soldiers.

“The IDF and the ISA are commended for the ongoing effort to eliminate our enemies,” the statement read. “We will continue to pursue anyone who took part in the October 7 massacre. Sooner or later, Israel will reach them all.”

Tuesday’s statement from the IDF and Shin Bet also described Odeh as head of Hamas’ intelligence headquarters.

“Odeh is one of the last senior commanders in Hamas’ military wing who took part in the planning and execution of the October 7 massacre and the management of combat operations against IDF troops,” the IDF and Shin Bet said. “His elimination constitutes a significant blow to the Hamas terrorist organization’s rehabilitation efforts.”

Separately, the Israeli military said earlier Tuesday that troops had dismantled about 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) of terror tunnel routes in the Beit Hanoun area of northern Gaza as part of a months-long engineering operation.

The IDF said forces from the Northern Brigade and the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit, operating under the 252nd Division, carried out hundreds of operations to locate and destroy tunnel infrastructure, along with hundreds of above-ground sites used by terrorists. The military described Beit Hanoun as a longstanding Hamas stronghold where tunnels were built beneath homes, public buildings and roads.

During fighting in the area, an additional 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) of tunnels were dismantled and terrorists were killed in engagements with Israeli forces, the IDF said.