BEIRUT – Following the brutal attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, sparking the Gaza conflict, Israel has assassinated several high-ranking officials connected to Hamas and its regional affiliates.
On Tuesday, Israel launched an operation in Qatar, known for its mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas, targeting a meeting of Hamas leaders in Doha who were reviewing a new ceasefire proposal.
Hamas said in a statement that six people were killed, but that all of the targeted officials survived.
Israel’s strikes have expanded from Gaza and Lebanon to Iran, targeting top figures from Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iranian military personnel. Below are some of the key figures targeted by Israeli operations amidst the conflict:
Saleh Arouri
Saleh Arouri, a co-founder of Hamas’ military arm and its deputy political head, was eliminated by a drone strike on January 2, 2024, in southern Beirut. Long on Israel’s radar due to alleged orchestrations of West Bank attacks, Arouri had been a prime target, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing his elimination even before the Hamas attack on October 7.
Mohammed Deif
On July 13, 2024, an Israeli airstrike near Khan Younis in southern Gaza killed Mohammed Deif, leader of Hamas’ military faction. The strike also resulted in over 90 casualties, affecting many displaced civilians in adjacent areas. Deif, considered a key figure in the October 7 attacks and a founding member of the Qassam Brigades, organized suicide bombings against Israelis and amassed a significant rocket arsenal targeting Israel. He had ranked at the top of Israel’s wanted list for years.
Fouad Shukur
Fouad Shukur, the senior military commander of Hezbollah, was killed by an Israeli airstrike on July 30, 2024, in a southern Beirut suburb. As the supervisor of Hezbollah’s southern Lebanese forces and a notable figure in its missile initiative, Shukur had been placed on the U.S. radar for allegedly orchestrating the devastating truck bombing of the Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, where 241 U.S. service members were killed. He became the first high-profile Hezbollah leader to be assassinated.
Ismail Haniyeh
On July 31, 2024, just hours after the strike that killed Shukur, Hamas’ top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in a predawn strike in the Iranian capital of Tehran. Israel had pledged to kill the 62-year-old Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the Oct. 7 attack. The strike came just after Haniyeh attended the inauguration of Iran’s new president.
Hassan Nasrallah
Israeli airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs killed Hezbollah’s longtime leader and one of its founders, Hassan Nasrallah, on Sept. 27, 2024. An astute strategist, the 64-year-old Nasrallah reshaped Hezbollah into an archenemy of Israel, cementing alliances with Shiite religious leaders in Iran and Palestinian militant groups such as Hamas. Under his leadership, Hezbollah fought wars against Israel and sided with President Bashar Assad during the conflict in neighboring Syria.
Nabil Kaouk
The deputy head of Hezbollah’s Central Council, Nabil Kaouk, was killed in an Israeli airstrike south of Beirut a day after Nasrallah. He joined the militant group in its early days in the 1980s. Kaouk also served as Hezbollah’s military commander in south Lebanon from 1995 until 2010. He made several media appearances and gave speeches to supporters, including at funerals for Hezbollah militants. He was seen as a potential successor to Nasrallah.
Hashem Safieddine
Israeli airstrikes on a Beirut suburb killed Hezbollah’s new leader, Hashem Safieddine, on Oct. 3, 2024, days after he replaced his predecessor, Hassan Nasrallah. A familiar face in Lebanon and a leader with close ties to Iran, he was a member of the group’s decision-making Shura Council and its Jihad Council, which acts as its military command. He also headed its Executive Council, which runs schools and social programs. Safieddine was a maternal cousin of Nasrallah.
Yahya Sinwar
Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’ leader in the Gaza Strip, who masterminded the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, was killed by Israeli troops on Oct. 16, 2024. Israel had vowed to kill Sinwar since the attack on southern Israel that triggered the ongoing war, but his death finally came about in a chance encounter. Israeli soldiers killed him inside a building in the southern city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, not knowing his identity until after his body was found.
Mohammad Sinwar
Mohammed Sinwar, believed to be the head of Hamas’ armed wing, was killed by an Israeli strike on May 13, 2025, in the Gaza Strip. He was the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar.
Hossein Salami
A wave of Israeli strikes on different parts of Iran killed several top officials with Iran’s military and the main paramilitary force on June 13, 2025. Among the high-level military officials killed was Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
Ahmed Al-Rahawi
The prime minister of the Houthi rebel-controlled government, Ahmed al-Rahawi, died in Israeli airstrikes on Yemen’s capital of Sanaa on Aug. 28, 2025. He was the most senior Houthi official to be killed since an Israeli-U.S. campaign against the militant group started earlier this year.
Abu Obeida
Israel said one of its airstrikes in Gaza on Aug. 30, 2025, killed the longtime spokesperson for Hamas’ armed wing, whom it identified as Hudahaifa Kahlout. Israel had said that Kahlout, who was better known by his nom de guerre, Abu Obeida, was behind the release of videos showing hostages as well as footage of the Hamas-led attack that sparked the war.
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