By Rami Ayyub and Nidal al-Mughrabi
JERUSALEM/CAIRO, May 26 (Reuters) – Israel said on Tuesday it had attacked Hamas’ new armed wing chief, who it said was appointed just days earlier after Israel killed his predecessor, as it steps up military pressure in Gaza and expands ground operations in Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement the military had struck Mohammad Odeh, whom he described as Hamas’ new armed wing chief in Gaza.
He did not provide further details. Netanyahu did not say whether Israel believed he was killed.
Gaza health officials said three people, including a woman, were killed and more than 20 others were wounded in the Israeli strike that destroyed an upper floor of an apartment building in Rimal neighbourhood in Gaza City. Rescue workers were still at the scene looking for more possible casualties.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas.
Netanyahu said Odeh had headed Hamas’ intelligence division at the time of the October 7, 2023 cross-border attack into Israel and was appointed about a week ago to replace Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the group’s chief armed commander, who was killed by Israel on May 15.
Sources close to Hamas didn’t confirm Odeh’s appointment as the new military chief but agreed he was seen as Haddad’s possible successor, as the group’s chief of military intelligence and possibly the last remaining living member of the armed wing’s higher leadership council.
Hours before the attack, Israel announced it had expanded ground operations in Lebanon. Israel is intensifying its military activities on multiple fronts.
Israel and Hamas are deadlocked in indirect talks over implementing the second phase of the deal, which includes the group’s disarmament and Israeli army withdrawals.
A ceasefire agreed in October left Israel in control of more than half of Gaza, with Hamas controlling a sliver of coastal territory.
Some 900 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the truce came into effect, according to figures from Gaza health officials that do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Four Israeli soldiers have been killed by militants during the same period, the country’s military has said.
Hamas does not disclose figures for casualties among its fighters. Israel says its post-ceasefire strikes are aimed at preventing attacks or stopping people from approaching its armistice line with Hamas.
More than 72,000 Gazans have been killed since the war started in October 2023, most of them civilians, according to Gaza health authorities.
Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.
(Reporting by Rami Ayyub in Jerusalem and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
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