In Deir al‑Balah, Gaza Strip, airstrikes on Wednesday killed at least seven people in Gaza City as Hamas confirmed that earlier Israeli airstrikes had killed the newly appointed head of its military wing, less than two weeks after the death of his predecessor.
Hamas stated that Mohammed Odeh was killed on Tuesday alongside his wife and two children in an Israeli airstrike, following Katz’s announcement that the Israeli military had targeted and eliminated the former head of Hamas’s armed wing.
At least five people — including Odeh and his family members — were killed and 12 injured in a Tuesday strike on a market in Gaza City, according to local hospitals.
The attack occurred on the eve of Eid Al‑Adha, a significant Muslim holiday.
Additional strikes on Wednesday evening killed at least seven people, including two children and a woman, and left more than 20 others wounded, Shifa Hospital reported.
Israeli forces said they targeted two Hamas militants during their Wednesday evening operations in northern Gaza.
Thousands gathered Wednesday for Odeh’s family funeral in Gaza City. Mourners draped the four bodies with green Hamas flags, marched from a mosque through the streets chanting and firing into the air, and some carried posters of Odeh, who was identified as “one of the chiefs of staffs of the Qassam Brigades,” Hamas’s armed forces.
Hamas stated that Odeh had been a member of the organization for over three decades and was part of the first generation that established Hamas’s armed wing.
Katz labeled Odeh “one of the architects” of the October 7, 2023 attacks and affirmed Israel would continue targeting those responsible. “We pledged that Hamas will not hold civilian or military rule,” he wrote on X.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, preparing for fall elections, also threatened to target everyone involved in the October 7 attack.
A grim Eid in Gaza
The attack occurred during preparations for Eid Al‑Adha, traditionally a time of family gatherings and festive meals, now subdued in Gaza where most residents are displaced and living in tents or temporary shelters amid widespread destruction. Nearly 90 percent of Gaza’s over two million residents are displaced, residing in tent camps plagued by rat infestations and sewage pools, and depend on humanitarian aid for survival.
Eid Al‑Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice, is an Islamic holiday observed by millions worldwide during the Hajj pilgrimage. It traditionally includes new clothing for children, gifts, and communal celebrations.
“This is not Eid … we’re dead,” said Mahmoud Saqer, a displaced man from Khan Younis, describing the profound grief and suffering in the territory.
In Khan Younis and Gaza City, amid ruined buildings and a destroyed mosque, people observed Eid prayers with minimal celebration, marked only by a few clusters of balloons along a street.
“There’s no Eid. My children were killed. Eid belongs to those who lost no one,” said Ayda Al‑Banna, a displaced woman from Gaza City, praying with her granddaughter.
Fragile ceasefire holds in Gaza
A ceasefire brokered in October remains fragile, with Israeli attacks killing over 880 Palestinians and four Israeli soldiers since its implementation. Israel justifies its operations as responses to Hamas violations or threats to its soldiers, while Palestinian health officials report numerous civilian casualties. The Palestinian Health Ministry reports over 72,803 Palestinian deaths attributed to Israeli fire, without distinguishing between civilian and militant casualties.