An Israeli airstrike targeting Mohammad Odeh, senior commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades killed five people in central Gaza on Tuesday night, medical sources told Al Manassa. The attack, which struck a residential building in the Al-Rimal neighborhood, comes amid escalations in ceasefire violations.
Israeli warplanes fired more than three missiles at the upper floors of the Ajjour building around 9:30 pm local time. An eyewitness told Al Manassa that the strike occurred without warning while the area was packed with civilians preparing for the Eid holiday. “People were in the markets to buy clothes and necessities for Eid,” the witness said.
A medical official at Al-Shifa Hospital who spoke to Al Manassa reported that the strike killed five individuals and wounded more than 20 others, noting that the majority of the casualties were pedestrians on the street below the building.
Israeli strike targets Qassam Brigades commander Muhammad Odeh, May 26, 2026.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the operation on X Tuesday evening, identifying the target as the commander of Hamas’ military wing and a key figure in the planning of the October 7 attacks.
In a separate post, defense minister Israel Katz corroborated the targeting, noting that Odeh—the former head of Al-Qassam intelligence—was one of the last military council members involved in the October attacks still at large. According to Katz, Odeh had only recently assumed leadership following the assassination of Izz ad-Din al-Haddad in a similar Al-Rimal strike two weeks prior.
His death follows weeks of heightened incitement in Israeli media, which had labeled Odeh a primary obstacle to peace for his refusal to surrender the movement’s weapons under the second phase of the current ceasefire agreement.
The strike is the latest in a mounting list of ceasefire breaches, according to the Government Media Office in Gaza. In a statement reviewed by Al Manassa, the office reported 3,005 Israeli violations since last October, ranging from the destruction of residential blocks to direct targeting of civilians and localized incursions.
According to the data, 910 people have been killed and 2,747 injured due to these violations over a period of 227 days, with another 82 individuals reported abducted or detained.
