By Pesach Benson • May 27, 2026
Jerusalem, 27 May, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s security establishment confirmed Wednesday that Mohammed Odeh, the newly appointed commander of Hamas’s forces in Gaza and a key architect of the October 7 massacre, was killed in an overnight airstrike in northern Gaza.
“The fourth commander of the Hamas terror organization’s military wing in Gaza was eliminated yesterday and sent to meet his partners in the depths of hell,” Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X.
“We pledged to eliminate everyone who led the October 7 massacre, and that is what we will do,” Katz said. “They are all marked for death, everywhere.”
Israeli officials described Odeh as one of the last senior Hamas commanders still actively serving from the time of the October 7, 2023 attack.
Before taking command of Hamas’s military wing last week, Odeh headed the organization’s military intelligence apparatus and played a central role in gathering intelligence, coordinating attacks, and rebuilding Hamas operational capabilities during the war.
Odeh replaced Izz al-Din Haddad, who was killed in an Israeli strike on May 14.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, several buildings in Gaza City used by Odeh and his aides as operational hideouts were targeted after months of intelligence monitoring.
The military said a nearby apartment belonging to another Hamas Operative involved in the October 7 attack was also struck.
The IDF said Odeh played a central role in planning and coordinating Hamas’s October 7 assault on southern Israel, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 others abducted.
Israeli security officials said Odeh also directed attacks and intelligence operations against Israeli troops operating in Gaza during the war.
The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and military described his death as a “significant blow” to Hamas efforts to rebuild its military infrastructure following months of Israeli operations targeting the group’s leadership.
However, Gaza media affiliated with Hamas reported that Odeh was killed in a strike in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood alongside several family members, including his wife, two sons, and daughter. The Iran-backed Hamas has not commented on Odeh’s death.
Odeh, believed to have been in his late 40s or early 50s, survived several previous Israeli assassination attempts during the war.
