The IDF and the Shin Bet on Wednesday morning confirmed its Tuesday night assassination in Gaza City of Hamas's brand new military chief, Mohammed Ouda.
Only 11 days after the IDF assassinated his predecessor, Iz al-Din al-Hadad, on May 15, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz had already announced that they had attempted the assassination on Tuesday night, and the military and the Israel Security Agency confirmed the details on Wednesday.
He joined al-Hadad, Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, Mohammed Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, and other top Hamas officials who Israel has assassinated since October 7, 2023.
While his assassination would be a stunningly impressive intelligence accomplishment so soon after killing al-Hadad, it is far from clear that it will change the strategic picture with Hamas.
Since the October 2025 ceasefire between the sides, Hamas has agreed to partial disarmament, giving away some heavy weapons, but only if Israel first withdraws from portions of the 53% of Gaza it controls, and allows significant rebuilding of Gaza to begin.
Israel has insisted on at least partial, if not full, disarmament before it makes such concessions.
Air force targeted multiple potential hideouts of Ouda
According to the IDF and Shin Bet, the air force attacked multiple buildings that were part of a network of Ouda's potential hideouts to ensure that he would be killed.
They said they had tracked Ouda's and his top aides' movements for multiple months.
In fact, they said that, simultaneously with the attack on Ouda, they attacked one of his top aides who was also involved in the October 7 invasion.
Ouda served as intelligence head during October 7 massacre
Ouda served as head of military intelligence for the Qassam Brigades during the October 7 massacre.
Further, he was deeply involved in Hamas's military plans and tracking IDF strategies throughout the war.
He was reportedly offered the role of military head after the assassination of Mohammed Sinwar in May 2025, but turned it down.
Next, he was selected for the role as one of the last remaining Hamas high command members who had an active role in planning and supervising the October 7 attack.
According to the foreign reports, the only remaining member of Hamas’s core council is home front commander Imad Aqel, who did not participate in the attack.
Ouda formerly served under Deif, and his work with Hamas began around the First Intifada that broke out in 1987. Deif headed the Qassam Brigades during the October 7 Massacre and was assassinated by Israel in July 2024, after years of failed attempts.
Ouda has survived several assassination attempts, before and after the current war, but during most attempts, he was not at the location targeted.
A grainy video distributed by the IDF briefly showed the buildings in Gaza City before showing huge explosions and smoke covering the area.
Ouda himself is not shown in the video, but the IDF confirmed the kill after nearly 12 hours of performing an assessment of the effectiveness of the attack.