Israeli Military Says It Killed Hamas’s New Chief in Gaza Strike

The Israeli military on May 27 said it killed Mohammad Odeh, Hamas’s newly appointed military chief, in an airstrike in Gaza.

The announcement came as Israeli forces intensified military operations across the enclave and southern Lebanon while ceasefire negotiations remained deadlocked.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed Odeh’s death in a May 27 statement, describing him as a senior Hamas commander who led the group’s intelligence headquarters and helped coordinate Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.

The IDF said Odeh was appointed after the May 15 killing of his predecessor, Izz al-Din al-Haddad.

Haddad had been involved throughout the war in holding Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity, the IDF said, adding that he surrounded himself with hostages as an attempt to avoid being killed.

“Odeh was among the last remaining senior Hamas military commanders involved in the planning and execution of the October 7th massacre and in directing combat operations against IDF troops during the war,” the IDF stated.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a May 27 post on X that Odeh was “eliminated” and “sent to meet his partners in the depths of hell.”

“We committed to eliminating everyone who led the October 7 massacre, and so it shall be,” Katz said. “They are all sentenced to death, wherever they may be.”

A relative of Odeh confirmed his death to Reuters, the news agency reported on May 27. It added that a statement from Odeh’s family said he was killed along with his wife and son.

The military operation to eliminate Odeh targeted “terrorist infrastructure sites in Gaza City,” the IDF said, adding that they were used by Odeh and Hamas operatives. The Israeli military said the strike followed months of intelligence monitoring and operational tracking.

Hours before the strike, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was expanding military operations in southern Lebanon.

“We are deepening our operation in Lebanon,” Netanyahu said at the start of a May 26 Security Cabinet meeting. “The IDF is operating with large forces on the ground and seizing dominant terrain.”

Ceasefire Talks Remain Stalled

Israel and Hamas remain locked in indirect negotiations over implementing the second phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire reached in October 2025. The talks have stalled over demands involving Hamas’s disarmament and Israeli troop withdrawals from Gaza.

Israel currently controls more than half of Gaza, while Hamas retains control over a narrow strip of coastal territory, according to Israeli and regional officials.

The Israeli military has said four Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect in October 2025.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said on May 26 that 906 people had been killed and 2,747 wounded since the ceasefire began on Oct. 11, 2025. The ministry said the overall death toll in Gaza since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023, had risen to 72,803, with 172,855 wounded.

Israel disputes the casualty figures issued by Gaza authorities and says Hamas embeds military infrastructure within civilian areas and does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. The Epoch Times cannot verify the figures reported by the Gaza Health Ministry.

According to Israeli government figures, Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, assault killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel.

Reuters contributed to this report.