Hamas intelligence chief Mohammed Odeh has reportedly been selected to replace Izz al-Din al-Haddad as the terror group’s top leader in Gaza and commander of its military wing, following al-Haddad’s death in an Israeli airstrike last week.

The Saudi-owned Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported that Odeh, a senior figure in Hamas’s Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, was chosen after al-Haddad was killed in a precision Israeli strike in Gaza City on Friday. Hamas confirmed al-Haddad’s death, along with the deaths of his wife and 19-year-old daughter, following the strike.

Al-Haddad, known within Hamas circles as “the Ghost,” had emerged as the head of Hamas’s military wing after the killing of Mohammad Sinwar in 2025. Israel accused him of being one of the key planners of the October 7, 2023 attacks, in which Hamas terrorists killed some 1,200 people in Israel and abducted 251 hostages.

According to Asharq Al-Awsat, Odeh had been close to al-Haddad and worked with him to rebuild Hamas’s internal military structure following the assassinations of former Hamas military leaders Muhammad Deif and Muhammad Sinwar. The report said Odeh had previously been asked to take command of the al-Qassam Brigades after Sinwar’s assassination last May, but declined at the time.

Odeh is considered one of the few remaining senior Hamas military figures from the prewar command structure. The European Council on Foreign Relations identifies him as a member of the Qassam Brigades’ Military Council and the long-serving head of the group’s intelligence apparatus.

Israeli officials have also previously singled out Odeh by name. In September 2025, the IDF released a photograph showing Odeh alongside senior Hamas figures, including Muhammad Deif and Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida, and identified him as the head of the military wing’s intelligence staff. At the time, IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Odeh was “the only one still alive” from that group and vowed that Israel would reach him as well.

According to the Saudi report, Odeh played a major intelligence role in the lead-up to the October 7 attacks, including gathering information on IDF bases near the Gaza border and identifying vulnerabilities in the IDF’s Gaza Division.

The reported appointment comes as Hamas continues trying to preserve a functioning command structure after a series of Israeli targeted killings wiped out much of its senior military leadership in Gaza. Ynet reported before the succession report that Odeh was viewed as one of the only known surviving senior figures from Hamas’s October 7-era military leadership.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)