Israel Claims to Have Killed New Hamas Military Commander in Gaza

Israeli forces claim to have killed Mohammed Awda in an attack in the Gaza Strip. Israel accuses Awda of being selected as the new commander of Hamas’s armed wing.

According to Anadolu Agency on Wednesday (27 May 2026), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Katz also stated that the military targeted Awda in an airstrike in Gaza City.

The claim follows a massive Israeli bombing campaign targeting densely populated areas in central Gaza City on the night of Eid al-Adha, which killed a Palestinian woman and injured others, according to medical sources.

Hamas and its armed wing, the Qassam Brigade, have not commented on Israel’s claims.

The latest Israeli airstrike, reported by AFP on Tuesday (26 May), hit the Al-Maghazi area in central Gaza.

‘Five martyrs and several injured were transferred (to hospitals) after an Israeli airstrike targeted a group of civilians in eastern Al-Maghazi,’ stated Gaza’s civil defence agency, which operates as a rescue service under Hamas.

Israel’s allegations come amid growing warnings from Israeli analysts and opposition figures that Netanyahu may seek further escalation in Gaza for electoral purposes, amid potential dissolution of the Knesset and early elections.

Israel has killed over 72,000 people and injured more than 172,000 in two years of brutal attacks since October 2023, causing widespread destruction affecting 90% of civilian infrastructure, before a ceasefire was announced last October.