During its ongoing aggression on the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, Israel carried out assassinations targeting a number of prominent leaders in the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), amid a sharp escalation in the confrontations that have been ongoing for about a year.
The following is a list of some of the assassinations that targeted leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas, in which fingers were pointed at Israel.
Hezbollah
Ibrahim Qubaisi
An airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on September 24 killed Ibrahim Qubaisi, the commander and senior member of Hezbollah’s missile system, two security sources in Lebanon said.
Ibrahim Aqil
An Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on September 20 killed Hezbollah operations commander Ibrahim Aqil, a member of the group’s highest military body.
Aqeel, who used pseudonyms including Tahseen and Abdul Qader, is a member of the Jihad Council, Hezbollah’s highest military body.
The United States accused Akil of involvement in the April 1983 truck bombing of the US embassy in Beirut, which killed 63 people, and the bombing of a US Marine barracks six months later, which killed 241 US soldiers.
Ahmed Wahbi
Ahmad Wahbi was killed in an Israeli strike targeting a number of senior leaders, including Ibrahim Aqil, in the southern suburbs of Beirut on September 20.
Wahbi is a senior commander who oversaw the military operations of the Radwan Force, Hezbollah’s elite force, in the Gaza War until early 2024.
Fouad Shukr
An Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on July 30 killed the group’s top military commander, Fouad Shukr, whom the Israeli military described as the right-hand man of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.
Shukr was one of the prominent military figures in Hezbollah since its inception more than 4 decades ago.
The United States imposed sanctions on Shukr in 2015, accusing him of playing a central role in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut.
Mohammed Nasser
Muhammad Nasser was killed in an Israeli air strike on July 3. Israel claimed responsibility for his assassination, saying he was leading a unit responsible for firing on it from southwestern Lebanon.
According to senior security sources in Lebanon, Nasser, a senior Hezbollah commander, was responsible for part of Hezbollah’s operations on the border.
Abdullah student
Senior Hezbollah field commander Taleb Abdullah was killed on June 12 in an Israeli airstrike that Israel claimed responsibility for, saying it had bombed a command and control center in southern Lebanon.
Security sources in Lebanon said that he was the commander of Hezbollah in the central region of the southern border strip and held the rank of Nasser.
His assassination prompted Hezbollah to launch a massive barrage of rockets across the border into Israel.
Mohamed Sorour
Israeli media confirmed that today’s Israeli raid on the southern suburb of Beirut targeted the commander of Hezbollah’s drone unit, Muhammad Surur, nicknamed Abu Saleh, without his fate being clear yet.
Reuters quoted two security sources as confirming that Mohammad Sarour, the commander of one of Hezbollah’s air force units, was killed in an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Thursday afternoon. Hezbollah has not yet confirmed or denied this news.
agitation
Ismail Haniyeh
At dawn on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, Hamas announced the assassination of its political bureau chief, Ismail Haniyeh, in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
Hamas said in a statement that the movement’s leader “died in a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran,” but Israel did not claim responsibility for his assassination.
In another statement, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard said, “We are studying the dimensions of the incident of Haniyeh’s martyrdom in Tehran and will announce the results of the investigation later.”
The Iranian News Agency reported that Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were martyred when their residence in Tehran was targeted.
Haniyeh was visiting Tehran to participate in the inauguration ceremony of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Saleh Al-Arouri
Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of Hamas’s political bureau, was killed in a drone attack targeting the movement’s office in Beirut’s southern suburbs on January 2, 2024.
Al-Arouri was also the founder of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.
Mohammed Al-Daif
The Israeli army claimed that Mohammed Deif was killed after fighter jets launched an air strike on the Khan Yunis area on July 13, but Hamas denied this more than once, and confirmed that he is alive and continuing his duties in leading the Qassam Brigades and managing the fighting against Israeli forces on the battle fronts.
Al-Daif had survived seven Israeli assassination attempts, and was considered one of the masterminds of the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel.