DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel said Wednesday that it targeted and killed the new leader of Hamas’ military wing during airstrikes in Gaza City less than two weeks after it killed his predecessor.Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz and the Israeli military said the strikes, which were carried out on Tuesday, killed Mohammed Odeh. Family members of a man called Mohammed Odeh said he was killed in the strike, but did not confirm he was the leader of the military wing. Hamas has not commented.Katz called him “one of the architects” of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that triggered over two years of war in Gaza and said it was the fourth time Israel has killed the head of Hamas’ military wing since that massacre. Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the previous head, was killed on May 16.At least three people were killed and 12 injured in Tuesday’s strike, which took place on the eve of Eid al-Adha, a major Muslim holiday.
“We pledged to eliminate everyone who led the October 7 massacre and this is what we will do: they are all bound to die, everywhere,” Katz wrote on X on Wednesday. “We pledged that Hamas will not hold civilian or military rule.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is preparing for elections in the fall, also threatened that Israel will target everyone involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
