Dozens of Palestinians carried the body of Hamas’ armed wing chief through the streets of Gaza City in a funeral procession on Wednesday, a day after Israel killed him as it moves to eliminate the militant group’s top brass despite a ceasefire.
The Israeli military said Mohammad Odeh was killed in a targeted attack on Tuesday night, just over a week after his predecessor, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, was killed in an Israeli strike on a Gaza apartment block.
The deaths mean there are few militant leaders left in Gaza to lead the group’s armed wing, at a time when Israel and Hamas are deadlocked in U.S.-brokered talks to advance President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza’s future.
Hours after Odeh’s funeral, the Israeli military said it targeted two Hamas militants in a strike in northern Gaza, without disclosing their identity.
At least 10 people were killed, including five children, and 18 wounded in an Israeli strike that targeted a building in Gaza city on Wednesday evening, health officials said. Sources close to Hamas said Emad Esleem, a local Gaza City commander, was killed in the strike.
MOURNERS SAY KILLINGS WON’T STOP PALESTINIAN RESISTANCE
The Israeli strike that targeted Odeh also killed his wife and son, his family said. Mourners carried their three bodies, covered in white burial shrouds, past buildings that were bombed out during Israel’s two-year military assault on Gaza.
Abu Al-Abd Odeh, one of Odeh’s relatives, said Israel’s campaign would not stop Palestinians from rising up.
“This journey will not stop and the struggle of the Palestinian people will continue on all levels,” he said at a mosque in Gaza City during the funeral.
Gaza health officials say the strike that killed Odeh, his wife and son left at least three others dead and more than 20 wounded. The strike destroyed the upper floor of an apartment building in the Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City.
Rescue workers dug through the rubble for more possible casualties earlier on Wednesday.
