Israel-Hamas Odeh Strike Follow-up; Gaza Civilian Toll Rises Under Ceasefire
Hebrew media outlets cited initial assessments indicating last night’s strike on new Hamas military chief Mohammed Odeh in Rimal in western Gaza City was successful. Three people were killed and 20 wounded. There has been no immediate Hamas confirmation. Despite the ceasefire that has been in place in Gaza since October, Israel has kept up its campaign against the perpetrators of the October 7, 2023 attacks; reporting last week indicated Israel has created a list of all Palestinians who took part in the attack and is working to kill or arrest each one. Some 900 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the October truce, according to Gaza health officials.
The Odeh succession from Ezz al-Din al-Haddad represents Hamas’s third military-wing chief change since the war began. Israel and Hamas remain deadlocked in indirect talks over implementing the second phase of the October ceasefire deal, which includes the group’s disarmament and Israeli army withdrawals. Israel has acknowledged supporting groups opposed to Hamas during its war on Gaza; incursions by Israeli-backed armed gangs have escalated in recent weeks. Five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli drone attack on Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza on Tuesday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has separately told confidants Israel has “no manoeuvre to influence the president right now” on the Iran deal — an acknowledgment that Israel has been largely left out of the US-Iran talks despite the war beginning with joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February.