Family sources in the Gaza Strip said Mohammed Ali Ouda, known as Abu Omar and described as the new commander of Hamas’ armed wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, was killed along with his wife in an Israeli air strike targeting Gaza City.
The announcement came after Israel said it had carried out an assassination operation targeting Ouda, whom it described as “the new commander of Hamas’ military wing”.
Local sources said funeral prayers for Ouda would be held at Al-Nour Mosque west of Gaza City on Wednesday afternoon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the defence minister said in a joint statement that the Israeli military had carried out an attack on Mohammed Ouda in Gaza, describing him as the new commander of Hamas’ military wing and one of the planners of the 7th October attack.
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According to the Israeli statement, Ouda served as Hamas intelligence chief during the Al-Aqsa Flood operation and was appointed around a week ago as successor to Izz al-Din al-Haddad, whom Israel said was killed in Gaza two weeks ago.
The statement added that Ouda “was responsible for the killing, abduction and injury of a large number of Israelis and soldiers”, stressing that Israel “will continue pursuing everyone involved in the 7th October attack”.
In the same context, Israel’s Channel 14 quoted a senior Israeli official as confirming that the army had targeted Mohammed Ouda, saying: “We will pursue them all.”
The assassination coincided with a heavy escalation in Israeli air strikes west of Gaza City. Local sources described difficult conditions in densely populated western neighbourhoods, particularly Al-Rimal, amid intensive flights by warplanes, helicopters and surveillance drones, alongside successive strikes targeting residential areas during pre-Eid al-Adha shopping hours.
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