The Hamas movement has announced the martyrdom of senior military commander Mohammad Odeh, also known as Abu Amro, a foundational figure in its armed wing who was martyred alongside his wife, three of his children.
In a statement, Hamas eulogized Odeh as a man who “rose steadfast and proud in the fields of struggle and giving, writing a new page of pride and dignity with his pure blood.” He was martyred along with his wife and his children, Yasser, Yahya, and Jamila.
Odeh is considered a member of the first generation of Hamas’s military wing and one of its earliest founders, and worked alongside key historical figures including commander Abu Muadh Al-Namrouti, Abu Khaled Al-Dayf, and Sheikh Salah Shehadeh.
He spent 30 years alongside senior martyrs, outliving many of them. Despite leaving behind what the movement called a “great legacy,” he remained largely unknown to the public. He lived his life of armed activism away from the spotlight. Aside from one well-known image, obtained by zionist forces after the Al-Aqsa Flood operation, he was almost absent from media coverage.
A record of confrontation and leadership
Odeh was known for his bravery. In late 2000, when Palestinian Authority security forces came to arrest Sheikh Salah Shehadrh in the Al-Alami area of the Beit Lahia project, Odeh reportedly opened fire and confronted them.
He rose through the ranks of the military apparatus:
- 2001: Became head of a central department within the military manufacturing branch.
- 2009: Appointed commander of the Al-Khalifah Battalion (Central Camp), a position he held for two years.
- Later roles: Served as deputy commander of the Northern Brigade, head of combat intelligence at the central apparatus level, and from 2015 to 2020, served as commander of the Northern Brigade.
According to Hamas, his period of command oversaw a build-up of military capabilities and an ability to unify technical and specialized efforts. He was described as very close to the commander Mohammad Al-Dayf, who reportedly saw in him “trust, leadership, professionalism, and competence.”
Most Recent Roles and Strategic Influence
From 2020 to early 2022, Odeh served as commander of weapons support and combat services. From 2022, through Operation al-Aqsa Flood, until his martyrdom, he was commander of military intelligence within the armed wing and a member of the movement’s national security system, both internally and externally. He was leading one of the most sensitive files in the organization, Hamas stated.
He formulated strategic intelligence assessments with professionalism and wisdom, relying on specialists and experts. He signed documents submitted to the leadership with the codename “Yasser.”
Senior commanders reportedly viewed him as the future commander of the military wing. However, he was described as having shunned leadership roles, avoiding appointments and top positions on multiple occasions, most recently after Operation al-Aqsa Flood and even following the death of commander Abu Saib Al-Haddad.
Those close to him said Odeh preferred collective, technical, and specialized teamwork, focusing on rapid achievements, particularly in long-term strategic matters.
Below we publish the Hamas statement in full:
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
“Among the believers are men who have proven true to what they pledged to Allah. Some of them have fulfilled their vow to the death, and some still wait, and they have not altered the terms of their commitment by any alteration.”
Press Statement: Mourning the Great Al-Qassam Commander, the Martyr Mohammed Odeh (Abu Amr)
With all feelings of pride and honor, and with more faith, submission, patience, and steadfastness, and continuing the path of sacrifice and jihad, on the path of defending the land and the holy sites, we mourn to our Palestinian people, our Arab and Islamic nation, and the free people of the world, the great Al-Qassam commander, the hero, the martyr:
Mohammed Odeh (Abu Amr)
He ascended to his Lord as a martyr yesterday evening, Tuesday, 26/05/2026, corresponding to the blessed day of Arafah, 9 Dhu al-Hijjah 1447 AH, along with his wife and two of his children in a treacherous zionist bombing that targeted a residential building in Gaza City, in a desperate attempt to undermine the steadfastness and will of our people and their resistance, and in a flagrant violation of all values, norms, laws, and divine religions.
The great commander Abu Amr departed to his Lord as a martyr after a jihadist journey full of sacrifice, patience, and ribat, spanning more than three decades. He was of the first generation that founded the jihadist and military work, and he had clear fingerprints in all its blessed stages and milestones, even until the Al-Aqsa Flood, in terms of building, preparation, planning, and innovation, at all levels: professional, technical, and specialized academic. He was an example of a brilliant commander in planning, directing, and uniting efforts, expertise, and resources, and he worked with wisdom, competence, strength, and power, and in silence far from media exposure, until he attained the honor of the highest aspirations on the land of Gaza, on the blessed day of Arafah.
The martyr commander fighter Mohammed Odeh, may Allah have mercy on him, lived accompanying the journey of the first founding generation, over three decades, ascetic, humble, noble, wise, and honest. He was a guard on the frontier of preparation, construction, and planning, and he had been wanted and pursued by the zionist occupation for many years, until the time of divine selection came, and he joined his companions on the path, the martyr commanders, leaving behind a great legacy, an influential mark, and a fragrant biography that will remain a source of inspiration and a role model for the generations of our Palestinian people, Allah willing.
We confirm that the blood of the martyr commander Mohammed Odeh and his family, and all the blood of the martyrs from our leaders and the children of our steadfast people, who ascended on the path of liberating the land and the holy sites, will not go in vain, and will remain fuel that kindles in our people the strength and insistence to continue the path of struggle and steadfastness. The fascist occupation government’s escalation of its crimes in assassination, siege, and starvation in the Gaza Strip will not succeed in achieving their goals that they have failed at, nor in breaking the will of our people and their resistance.
May Allah the Almighty have mercy on the great commander, the martyr fighter Mohammed Odeh, Abu Amr, forgive him, and dwell him in the highest paradise of Jannah, with the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous, and excellent are those as companions. We ask Allah the Almighty in these blessed days to protect our people and our nation from the plots and danger of this brutal zionist entity.
It is a jihad of victory or martyrdom.
Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas)
Wednesday: 27/05/2026 AD
Corresponding to: 10 Dhu al-Hijjah 1447 AH