Mohammed Odeh commanded Hamas’s military wing for 10 days before being eliminated by the IDF on May 26. Several of his subordinates were also eliminated as the IDF continued to increase the pace and gravity of its operations against Hamas amid the terrorist group’s refusal to disarm.
Odeh was appointed as the head of Hamas’s Al Qassam Brigade after IDF strikes killed Azz al Din Haddad on May 15. The rapidity of the second decapitation strike was predicated on months of IDF and Shin Bet tracking of Odeh and his network, and the Israeli Air Force hit multiple hideouts that the Hamas leader was known to have used to ensure his elimination. Before leading the Al Qassam Brigade, Odeh was Hamas’s head of military intelligence, where he reportedly played a significant role in planning the October 7 massacre.
Odeh was the second-to-last member of Hamas’s core council in Gaza, leaving only Imad Aqel, the head of Al Qassam’s Home Front Headquarters.
The next day, the IDF also eliminated Hamas’s Northern Gaza Brigade leader, Izz al Din Bik, and the deputy commander of its Gaza City Brigade, Imad Aslim. The two were reportedly killed in the same strike while conducting a secret meeting at a civilian residence.
On May 28, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave the order for Israel to seize 70% of the Gaza Strip, up from the 60% Israel controlled last week and the 53% it controlled a month ago. These territorial moves come after Hamas rejected the International Board of Peace’s directive to disarm, a key condition of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza.
Meanwhile, the IDF reported that Palestinian terrorists violated the current ceasefire 10 times from May 21 to 28:
- On May 22, the IDF’s Northern Brigade identified “a terrorist who crossed the yellow line and approached the forces in a manner that posed an immediate threat.” That same night, the 188th Brigade in the southern Gaza Strip reported that another individual crossing the Yellow Line in “a manner that posed an immediate threat.” The IDF eliminated both individuals.
- Also on May 22, the 454th Artillery Brigade eliminated a terrorist “who acted suspiciously in the Yellow Line area,” according to the IDF.
- On May 23, the IDF reported “two separate incidents.” First, the IDF Paratroopers Brigade claimed to have eliminated “a number of terrorists who crossed the yellow line and approached the forces in a manner that posed an immediate threat.” The IDF also stated that the 14th Armored Brigade “identified a terrorist yesterday who crossed the yellow line and approached the forces in a manner that posed an immediate threat.” Israeli forces killed him as well.
- On May 24, the IDF said it eliminated a Hamas terrorist who it said had infiltrated Zikim Base during the October 7 attack, adding that Louay al Shaam Mahmoud Batzal was a sniper in Hamas’s Zeitoun Battalion who “posed an immediate threat to our forces.” Batzal had reportedly attempted to carry out multiple attacks on IDF soldiers recently.
- On May 25, IDF forces in Southern Command eliminated Muhammad Abu Mloukh, a “key terrorist in the production headquarters” of Hamas who “served as a central knowledge hub in the terror organization.” Mloukh had been producing weapons used to pose a threat to IDF troops operating in the area, according to the Israeli military.
- On May 26, the IDF said that it demolished approximately 11 kilometers of Hamas tunnels in Beit Hanoun.
- On May 28, IDF forces eliminated Ihad Khreizim and Muhammad al Habash. The Israeli military said that Khreizim handled “funds worth millions of dollars” for Hamas, which he transferred to the Qassam brigades, adding that recently, he “enabled the promotion and execution of terror plots in the immediate timeframe against IDF forces operating in the Gaza Strip and civilians of the State of Israel.” Habash, killed in the same strike, led a Hamas weapons production headquarters, according to the IDF.
Samuel Ben-Ur is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Tags: Gaza, Hamas, IDF, Israel, Israel Hamas, Israel Hamas Ceasefire Violations
