The Israeli military says Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in a massive Israeli strike on Beirut.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in a massive Israeli bombing of the group’s central headquarters in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Hezbollah later confirmed in a statement the death of Nasrallah, who led the group for 32 years.
With his assassination, Nasrallah’s name became the latest to be added to a growing list of Middle Eastern political leaders and commanders who have been hunted down and killed by Israel in recent months, amid a sharp escalation in violence in the region since October 7.
Here is a list of some operations against the leaders and commanders of Hezbollah and Hamas, claimed or attributed to Israel.
Hezbollah
- Hassan Nasrallah – An Israeli army spokesperson announced that the leader of Hezbollah had been “eliminated” during strikes on the Lebanese capital on Friday. Hezbollah later confirmed his assassination. In 2006, Nasrallah was also reportedly killed during the last war between Israel and Hezbollah, but he later emerged unscathed.
- Ibrahim Qubaisi – An airstrike on the southern suburbs of Beirut on September 24 killed Qubaisi, commander and figurehead of Hezbollah’s rocket division, two security sources said.
- Ibrahim Aqil – Hezbollah’s operations commander, who was part of the group’s top military corps, was killed by an Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut on September 20. Aqil, who also used the pseudonyms Tahsin and Abdelqader, was a member of Hezbollah’s top military body, the Jihad Council. The United States has accused him of playing a role in two deadly bombings in Lebanon that killed hundreds of people.
- Ahmed Wahbi – He was identified as a senior commander who oversaw the military operations of Radwan’s special forces in the Gaza war until early 2024. He was killed in an Israeli strike that targeted several senior commanders, including Ibrahim Aqil, in the suburbs of Beirut on September 20. .
- Fouad Choukr – An Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital on July 30 killed Hezbollah commander-in-chief Fuad Shukr, identified by the Israeli army as Nasrallah’s right-hand man. Shukr was one of Hezbollah’s main military figures since its creation by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps more than 40 years ago. The United States imposed sanctions on Shukr in 2015 and accused him of playing a central role in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, which killed 241 service members.
- Mohammed Nasser – Hezbollah’s top leader was killed in an Israeli airstrike on July 3 in Tyre, Lebanon. Israel claimed responsibility, saying he led a unit tasked with firing from southwest Lebanon into Israel. Nasser, also known as Hajj Abu Nimah, was also allegedly responsible for part of Hezbollah’s operations on the border with Israel.
- Taleb Abdallah – Hezbollah’s top field commander was killed June 12 in a strike claimed by Israel, which said it hit a command and control center in southern Lebanon. Security sources in Lebanon said he was Hezbollah’s commander for the central region of the southern border strip and had the same rank as Nasser. His killing prompted the group to fire a powerful barrage of rockets across the border into Israel.
Hamas
- Mohammed Deif – The Israeli military said Deif was killed after warplanes struck in the Khan Younis area of Gaza on July 13 following an intelligence assessment. The elusive Deif had survived seven assassination attempts by Israel. Deif, one of the founders of Hamas’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades, was allegedly one of the masterminds of the October 7 attack on southern Israel, on the eve of the Gaza war.
- Ismail Haniyeh – Haniyeh was assassinated in the early hours of July 31 in Iran, according to Hamas. He was reportedly killed by a missile that hit him directly at a state guest house where he was staying in Tehran. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack.
- Saleh al-Arouri – An Israeli drone strike on the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh killed Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri on January 2, 2024. Arouri was also the founder of Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades.
Iranian officials
- Mohammad Reza Zahedia senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force and his deputy Mohammad Hadi Hajriahimi were killed in an Israeli airstrike in April that destroyed the Iranian consulate in Damascus.