Israel said on Tuesday it had attacked Hamas’ new armed wing chief, who it said was appointed just days earlier after Israel killed his predecessor, as it steps up military pressure in Gaza and expands ground operations in Lebanon.
Palestinians stand by a damaged car, at the site of an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Gaza City, May 26, 2026. Reuters/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Israel said on Tuesday it had attacked Hamas’ new armed wing chief, who it said was appointed just days earlier after Israel killed his predecessor, as it steps up military pressure in Gaza and expands ground operations in Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement the military had struck Mohammad Odeh, whom he described as Hamas' new armed wing chief in Gaza.
He did not provide further details. Netanyahu did not say whether Israel believed he was killed.
Gaza health officials said three people, including a woman, were killed and more than 20 others were wounded in the Israeli strike that destroyed an upper floor of an apartment building in Rimal neighbourhood in Gaza City. Rescue workers were still at the scene looking for more possible casualties.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas.
Netanyahu said Odeh had headed Hamas' intelligence division at the time of the October 7, 2023 cross-border attack into Israel and was appointed about a week ago to replace Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the group's chief armed commander, who was killed by Israel on May 15.
Sources close to Hamas didn't confirm Odeh's appointment as the new military chief but agreed he was seen as Haddad's possible successor, as the group's chief of military intelligence and possibly the last remaining living member of the armed wing's higher leadership council.
Israel and Hamas are deadlocked in indirect talks over implementing the second phase of the deal, which includes the group's disarmament and Israeli army withdrawals.
A ceasefire agreed in October left Israel in control of more than half of Gaza, with Hamas controlling a sliver of coastal territory.
Some 900 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the truce came into effect, according to figures from Gaza health officials that do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Four Israeli soldiers have been killed by militants during the same period, the country's military has said.
Hamas does not disclose figures for casualties among its fighters. Israel says its post-ceasefire strikes are aimed at preventing attacks or stopping people from approaching its armistice line with Hamas.
Hamas' October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.
By Rami Ayyub and Nidal al-Mughrabi
Israel's largest defence contractor is developing hardware to combat explosive Hezbollah drones that have killed Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, including through the potential use of laser-based defence systems, its CEO told Reuters on Tuesday.
The Israeli military has expanded its ground operations in southern Lebanon beyond a demarcation line that Israel set up several kilometres inside Lebanese territory after an April 16 ceasefire with Hezbollah, two sources said on Tuesday.
The Israeli military ordered the full evacuation of the city of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, ahead of strikes targeting Hezbollah.
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