Israel’s pursuit of Oct 7 terrorists leaves Hamas struggling to replenish leadership

(SeaPRwire) –   Right as Gaza was set to begin celebrations for Eid al-Adha, one of Islam’s most significant holidays, an Israeli airstrike targeted a structure in Gaza City, killing Mohammed Odeh, the recently named leader of Hamas’s military branch, per statements from Israeli officials that were later corroborated by Hamas.

Regional media reports indicate that members of Odeh’s family also died in the strike. Gaza’s markets were bustling with activity just two hours after the attack.

Digital examined footage shot in Gaza that showed packed Eid thoroughfares, children out shopping and families gathering together, with barely any visible public response to the death of the Hamas commander, whom Israel has identified as one of the masterminds of the October 7, 2023, attacks on its territory.

This stark contrast highlights what numerous Gazans and analysts characterize as a widening rift between Hamas leadership and local civilians worn down by almost three years of conflict. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reports that the war has killed over 70,000 Palestinians, a tally that does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths, and has displaced the majority of Gaza’s residents.

Hadeel Oueis, the editor-in-chief of Jusoor News, told Digital that these targeted killings are creating “a clear void” within Hamas, and eroding coordination between the group’s leaders based in Gaza and those located outside the enclave.

“As its leaders are killed and its robust centralized command structure breaks down, Hamas is evolving into a smaller militia that competes with other armed factions active in Gaza,” Oueis stated. “Hamas is currently fighting to stay intact.”

In a joint statement released on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that Odeh, who had taken over for top commander Izz al-Din al-Haddad just a few days prior, was “one of the masterminds of the October 7 massacre.”

“Israel will track down every single one of them, sooner or later,” Netanyahu and Katz added.

Within Gaza, multiple residents who spoke to Jusoor News said they no longer see the deaths of Hamas leaders as personal losses for their community.

“Naturally, we felt nothing when Haddad, Sinwar or other leaders were killed,” one Gazan activist and former political prisoner told Jusoor News in an on-camera interview, where his face was obscured to protect his safety.

The activist was referencing Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the Hamas military commander that Israel claims it killed earlier in May, and Yahya Sinwar, the former head of Hamas and lead architect of the October 7, 2023, attacks, who was killed by Israeli troops in southern Gaza in October 2024.

“Regular people are the ones who have borne the cost, not the leaders who made impulsive, unconsidered decisions,” the activist said.

“Because of those decisions, Gaza is now nearly totally destroyed,” the activist added. “There are families that have lost every single thing they owned, while the remaining leaders inside Gaza and abroad keep continuously gambling with our lives.”

A journalist based in Gaza echoed this widespread sense of frustration.

“When we got word that Izz al-Din Haddad or other leaders had been killed, it didn’t impact us at all,” the journalist said. “What hurts even more is that the children of these leaders live outside Gaza, in Turkey and Qatar, driving high-end cars and enjoying comfortable lives, while people here have been pushed almost back to living in the Stone Age.”

Another Gaza-based journalist and human rights advocate told Jusoor that Hamas has inflicted as much harm on Palestinians as it has on Israelis.

“I don’t view the deaths of these leaders as losses for Palestinians, because we regular people are the ones who have paid the price,” the advocate stated. “To be honest, Hamas didn’t only harm Israelis – they hurt us too.”

Meanwhile, Israeli analysts warn that these repeated targeted killings do not automatically signal that Hamas is on the brink of collapse.

Michael Milshtein, an expert on Palestinian affairs, told Digital that Hamas has undeniably sustained heavy damage since October 7, 2023, especially following the deaths of long-serving commanders who helped build the group’s military framework and operational ideology.

“Practically no one is left from the core team that planned and carried out the October 7 attack,” he said.

But he pointed out that Odeh himself was widely seen as a mid-level figure before the war, not an expected heir to Hamas’s longstanding military leadership.

“The people taking their places are much less experienced, less competent and far less charismatic,” Milshtein noted.

Even so, he contends that Hamas still retains working chains of command and ideological unity, even amid all its losses.

“People know they are very likely to be killed, and they still vie for these leadership roles,” he added.

Discussions over Hamas’s future are unfolding as global efforts to put together a post-war political structure for Gaza pick up pace.

Nickolay Mladenov, who was named High Representative for Gaza as part of the Board of Peace initiative, released the core components of a proposed 15-point “Roadmap to Complete the Implementation of President Trump’s Gaza Comprehensive Peace Plan.”

The proposal outlines a phased disarmament process for Hamas, security reforms overseen by international bodies, and the establishment of the “one authority, one law, one weapon” principle within Gaza.

“Gaza cannot recover as long as armed groups also function as governing authorities at the same time,” Mladenov wrote when he shared the proposal on social media.

For many Gazans worn out by years of war, displacement and destruction, the deaths of Hamas leaders now hold far less emotional significance than their hope that the conflict will finally come to an end.

“Gaza cannot be held hostage to the concept of endless war, while only civilians foot the entire bill,” one activist stated.