Hamas said to appoint Mohammed Odeh to replace terror group’s slain leader in Gaza

Odeh was head of military intelligence in al-Qassam Brigades during October 7, 2023, attack, had reportedly been tasked with finding weak points in border defense

Hamas intelligence chief Mohammed Odeh has been selected to replace Izz al-Din al-Haddad as the terror group’s leader in the Gaza Strip and chief of its military wing, the Saudi Asharq Al-Awsat outlet reported Monday, citing three sources familiar with the development.

Al-Haddad was killed in an Israeli strike on Friday.

Odeh, who was the head of military intelligence in Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades during the October 7, 2023, attack, was said by the outlet to have been close to al-Haddad and to have worked with him to “renew the organizational structure” of Hamas following the assassination of its former leaders Muhammad Deif and Muhammad Sinwar during the ensuing war.

Citing a source familiar with the details, the report said Odeh was initially approached to lead the al-Qassam Brigades following Sinwar’s assassination in May 2025, but declined. However, the two other sources said they could not confirm that it was the case. Sinwar’s brother Yahya had been the head of Hamas before he was killed by the IDF in May 2024.

According to the report, Odeh was tasked with gathering intelligence on IDF bases near the Gaza border and on weak points in the military’s Gaza Division in the run-up to October 7.

Odeh, estimated to be in his late 40s to early 50s, grew up in Gaza and was reported to have been involved with Hamas his whole life. In the past, he was involved with the group’s security unit that sought out Israeli spies.

Israel has tried to kill Odeh several times, and a strike on his father’s house in Gaza in 2025 killed his eldest son, Amr.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas led a devastating invasion of southern Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and triggered the Gaza war.