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Muhammad Odeh, New Head of the Hamas Military-Terrorist Wing, Eliminated in the Gaza Strip

On May 26, 2026, the Israeli security forces eliminated Muhammad Odeh in a strike on an apartment in Gaza City. Odeh headed Hamas' military wing for approximately two weeks following the elimination of his predecessor, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, and was one of the planners of the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack and massacre in his capacity as head of military intelligence for the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades; Hamas and its military wing confirmed the death of the "great commander" who headed the general staff, noting his many years of activity within the al-Qassam Brigades which culminated in the invasion into Israeli territory. They claimed his death would serve as an incentive for continuing the "resistance."; Odeh, considered one of Hamas' more secretive figures, held various positions in the military wing, including command of the Northern Brigade, and was considered a key figure in developing the movement's intelligence capabilities. During the preparations for the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre, he led monitoring the weaknesses of the IDF Gaza Division; It is still unclear who will be appointed to replace him, but a prominent candidate is the commander of the Beit Hanoun Battalion, Hussein Fayyad, reportedly Odeh's deputy; In Amit Institute assessment, the deaths Izz al-Din al-Haddad and Muhammad Odeh (within two weeks) will pose a significant challenge for the Hamas military leadership, both because of the need for personal survival, given Israel's intelligence penetration, and because of the elimination of the last senior commanders from the founding generation who orchestrated the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre. The new commander will also face difficult decisions regarding Hamas' future, primarily the effort to rebuild the capabilities of the military wing in the face of the growing demand for Hamas to disarm and relinquish power.
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Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (May 19-26, 2026)

IDF forces continued activity in the Yellow Line and other areas in the Gaza Strip, attacked weapons depots and eliminated terrorists who endangered the forces, including those involved in the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre. Hamas condemned the Israeli attacks on police forces, claiming they "violated" the ceasefire and were an attempt to create chaos; The representative of the Board of Peace, Nikolay Mladenov, warned that continued Israeli control over 60% of the Strip and the Hamas refusal to disarm would prevent the reconstruction of the Strip and the creation of a political horizon, and presented a 15-point framework for implementing the American peace plan. Hamas accused Mladenov of distorting the facts and continued opposing the demand for disarmament; Hundreds of activists from the Global Resilience Flotilla to the Gaza Strip were deported from Israel. Hamas condemned Israeli minister Ben-Gvir's visit to the detainees; Voters in the elections for the Hamas leadership cast blank ballots for the first time, apparently to protest the candidates or the intention to appoint a temporary head of the political bureau; The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations withdrew his candidacy for the position of vice president of the General Assembly after pressure from the American administration.
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Spotlight on Iran and the Shiite Axis (May 13-20, 2026)

Senior Iranian officials strongly condemned the elimination of the head of Hamas’ military wing, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, in the Gaza Strip and emphasized that his death would not harm the path of the “resistance” until the “elimination” of Israel; In a statement marking Nakba Day, the Iranian Foreign Ministry emphasized its country’s support for the Palestinian people’s right “to resist occupation and apartheid” and for the right of return of Palestinian refugees; Senior Iranian officials reiterated Tehran’s demand for an end to the war in Lebanon as part of its proposal to end the war with the United States. The Houthi leader claimed that Hezbollah’s “resistance” operations are “legitimate.”; Iran welcomed the formation of the new government in Iraq headed by Ali al-Zaidi; The US Department of Justice announced that a senior official in the Kata’ib Hezbollah militia in Iraq was arrested and charged with involvement in attacks against Jewish and American targets in retaliation for the war in Iran.
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The training program of the Hamas al-Shuja’iya Battalion during a ceasefire with Israel, according to a document brought back from the Gaza Strip

A document brought back from the Gaza Strip by the IDF showed that the Hamas military wing had exploited the January-March 2025 ceasefire to train new operatives in preparation for a possible resumption of the war. It detailed training held between February 17 and March 1, 2025 for 121 new recruits who would then be integrated into the al-Shuja'iya Battalion; According to the document, the training lasted only seven days and its schedule was carefully planned so that the entire process could be completed before the target date set for the end of the ceasefire; Given that the training took place during the ceasefire and the trainees were supposed to be integrated immediately into the al-Shuja'iya Battalion, the program included lessons learned from Operations al-Aqsa Flood, the name Hamas gave to the Gaza Strip War; Prospective operatives acquired field skills and were certified in the use of various weapons, including those used by the Israeli forces, and were trained in defense tactics to counter UAVs, first aid in the field and combat documentation. They were also given lectures with religious content and were required to swear fealty to the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades; Although Hamas was damaged and suffered significant losses during the war, its military wing apparently still operated with an organizational and operational infrastructure that enabled it to function as a terrorist organization in every respect. In Amit Institute assessment, Hamas used tactical pauses not only for regrouping and rest, but as a critical window for accelerated force-building and the insertion of fresh forces immediately upon the renewal of the fighting. Hamas, by virtue of its ability to learn lessons, did not allow its training to stagnate and incorporated updated operational lessons out of necessity to cope with the IDF's tactical advantages in the field. The document revealed that Hamas' training mechanism remained institutionalized, functioning and capable of carrying out complex and multi-branch training under constraints of schedules and security and operational limitations.
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Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (May 12-19, 2026)

IDF forces continued operating within the Yellow Line and in other areas in the Gaza Strip, eliminating terrorists who posed a threat, including those involved in the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre. Izz al-Din al-Haddad, who headed the Hamas military wing and was one of the planners of the October 7 attack, was eliminated in a strike in Gaza City, and reportedly, military intelligence chief Muhammad Oudeh was appointed to replace him; The Board of Peace announced the ceasefire continued despite the "violations," and called Hamas' refusal to disarm the main obstacle to advancing the process and beginning reconstruction of the Strip. Hamas and the other Palestinian terrorist organizations refused to disarm on the grounds that Israel had not met its commitments to the first stage of the agreement and called for the resignation of Mladenov, representative of the Board of Peace; Despite the demand that Hamas transfer governance of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian technocrat committee, Hamas government ministries continue routine activity to ensure the movement's hold on the territories over which it has control; The Israeli Navy prevented the Global Resilience Flotilla from reaching the Gaza Strip and halted dozens of vessels which had departed from Turkey; Hamas announced that no candidate had won the first round of elections for the movement's leadership, and therefore another round would take place; UNRWA reportedly smuggled its archives from the Gaza Strip headquarters and east Jerusalem to Jordan; The eighth Fatah conference called for continuing "non-violent popular resistance" for the establishment of a Palestinian state which would include Judea and Samaria, the Gaza Strip and have east Jerusalem as its capital. Marwan al-Barghouti, who is serving life sentences in Israel for terrorist crimes, won the vote for the movement's central committee, and the son of the chairman of the Palestinian Authority was also elected. Palestinian elements called for closing ranks and formulating a unified Palestinian strategy to advance a broad political and popular struggle.
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Elimination of Izz al-Din al-Haddad, Head of Hamas’ Military Wing: Reactions and Significance

On May 15, 2026, the Israeli security forces eliminated Izz al-Din al-Haddad in a strike on an apartment in Gaza City. He was head of Hamas' military wing and one of the planners of the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack and massacre, and led Hamas' reconstruction after the ceasefire; Hamas confirmed al-Haddad's death, called him a "great commander" who had been involved in jihad for decades, culminating in the invasion of Israeli territory and the ensuing atrocities. Statements by the movement and its senior figures accused Israel of an assassination and a violation of the ceasefire agreement, claiming that the objective was to exert pressure on Hamas; Al-Haddad, who joined Hamas at the age of 17 with the establishment of the movement, rose through the ranks of the military wing and held a series of command positions. He was appointed commander of the Gaza Brigade in 2021 and commander of the military wing in May 2025; He played a significant role in preparing for the October 7 attack and massacre. In an order given before the beginning of the attack, discovered by IDF forces in the Gaza Strip, he said the primary objective was to take a large number of soldiers captive in the first moments and send them into the Gaza Strip. During the war, he kept Israeli hostages around himself as human shields; In Amit Institute assessment, the elimination of al-Haddad is a blow to Hamas' reconstruction efforts, its continued military buildup and the tightening of its governance in areas under its control in the Gaza Strip after the ceasefire, despite demands that it relinquishes power and disarm. Al-Haddad was one of the last military commanders of Hamas' first generation, and his elimination will require the military wing to adapt itself to younger commanders who will have to make critical decisions regarding the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades' future.
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