Israeli forces kill new Hamas leader in Gaza

Israel said on 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 Defence 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 October 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 October 7, 2023, attack.

A grim Eid in Gaza

The attack came as Muslims prepared for Eid al-Adha, normally a joyous time of family gatherings and large meals.

The holiday once again is subdued this year in Gaza, where the vast majority of people remain displaced and live in tents or temporary shelters after a devastating war. Around 90 per cent of Gaza’s more than 2 million people have lost their homes, according to UN estimates, with most of them now sheltering in huge tent camps with rat infestations and pools of sewage. They are dependent on aid to survive.

Eid al-Adha, or “Feast of Sacrifice,” is an Islamic holiday celebrated by millions of Muslims across the globe. The four-day holiday, which begins during the Hajj pilgrimage, is also known for being a joyous occasion during which families gather, and children are given new clothes and gifts.

“This is not Eid ... we’re dead,” said Mahmoud Saqer, a displaced man from Khan Younis, who described people as being distressed by the ongoing human suffering and killings in the territory.

In Khan Younis and Gaza City, amid destroyed buildings, including a ruined mosque, people gathered for Eid prayers with few signs of celebration beyond a few clusters of balloons lining one street. Tahrir al-Khatib said the joy that accompanies Eid has been silenced in Gaza. “There’s no Eid.

My children were killed. Eid is only for the people who lost no one,” said Ayda Al-Banna, a displaced women from Gaza, who prayed Eid. Fragile ceasefire holds in Gaza. A ceasefire reached between Israel and Hamas last October remains fragile.