Two senior Hamas commanders were killed in an Israeli strike in northern Gaza the previous night, part of a series of recent attacks on the terrorist group’s military leadership in the enclave, a security official said Thursday.
The official said information received by the IDF showed that the strike killed Izz al-Din Bik, commander of Hamas’ northern Gaza brigade, and Imad Aslim, deputy commander of the Gaza City Brigade and commander of the Zeitoun Battalion. Reports from Gaza said four people were killed in the strike.
Israel says strike killed 2 senior Hamas commanders in northern Gaza
The operation was carried out quickly after intelligence on the two commanders led to rapid approval for the attack.
The strike came a day after Israel said it killed Mohammed Odeh, who had recently been appointed head of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza. Odeh was killed in an Israeli Air Force strike on a building in Gaza City. He had succeeded Izz al-Din al-Haddad, who was killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza City 10 days earlier.
Hamas formally acknowledged Thursday morning that Odeh had been killed. Shortly afterward, the IDF and Shin Bet issued an official statement confirming the strike. According to Hamas, Odeh’s wife and three of his children were also killed in the attack in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood.
According to the IDF and Shin Bet, the strike targeted buildings in central Gaza City that had served as hideouts for Odeh after months of intelligence surveillance. A nearby apartment was also struck. The military said it belonged to a Hamas terrorist who took part in the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel and was part of Odeh’s support network.
In addition to his new role as head of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, Odeh also served as head of the terrorist group’s intelligence headquarters. Israeli officials said he helped plan and coordinate Hamas’ October 7 attack, in which terrorists invaded southern Israeli communities, killed civilians and soldiers and abducted hostages to Gaza.
Strike that killed Mohammed Odeh
(Video: IDF)
Security officials said the killings of Haddad and Odeh, and now the apparent elimination of Bik and Aslim, are weakening Hamas’ military wing inside Gaza at a time when the group’s political leaders are largely outside the enclave.
The latest strike also comes as talks over a future arrangement in Gaza remain stalled. Israeli officials are now watching whether the series of assassinations will affect those negotiations, as well as who will replace Odeh in Hamas’ Gaza high command.
The Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported in recent days that Odeh was considered close to Haddad and had been in regular contact with him, especially during Hamas’ internal restructuring after the killings of senior commanders Mohammed Deif and Mohammed Sinwar.
According to the report, after Sinwar was killed in May 2025, Odeh was offered the post of head of Hamas’ military wing but refused, leading to Haddad’s appointment.