Israel said it killed the new head of Hamas's armed wing, Mohammed Odeh, in a strike on Tuesday evening. Odeh is the fourth head of the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades that Israel says it has killed since the start of the Gaza war.
Odeh's death comes after Israel killed his predecessor, Ezzedine al-Haddad, earlier this month. The Israeli military and Shin Bet domestic security agency said Odeh died on Tuesday, saying he had been appointed head of the brigades after al-Haddad's killing.
Hamas's armed wing confirmed Odeh's death, saying he was killed in a 'cowardly assassination operation' that also killed his wife and children. A Hamas official told AFP that three of Odeh's children were killed, including two adult men and a girl under 18.
Odeh had long been the head of Hamas's intelligence service and was one of the group's most senior surviving figures in the Gaza Strip. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Odeh was 'sent to meet his associates in the depths of hell.'
The strike that killed Odeh also killed seven people and injured more than 20 others, according to Gaza's civil defence agency. The Israeli military said it targeted two central Hamas terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip.
