Which Hezbollah and Hamas terror leaders have been taken out since October 7?
Ibrahim Aqil joins Fuad Shukr, Muhammad Nasser, Taleb Abdullah on list of eliminated Hezbollah military brass, along with Deif, Haniyeh and al-Arouri from Hamas
Reuters — Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander in an airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday, the IDF said and Hezbollah later confirmed, escalating a year-long conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed terrorist group.
Here is a list of some operations against Hezbollah and Hamas leaders and commanders blamed on Israel.
Hezbollah
Ibrahim Aqil
An Israeli strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs killed Hezbollah’s operations commander Ibrahim Aqil on September 20.
Aqil, who has also used the aliases Tahsin and Abdelqader, was a member of Hezbollah’s top military body, the Jihad Council.
The IDF said Aqil was also the acting commander of the terror group’s elite Radwan Force, and was leading a planned operation to invade the Galilee.
The US accused him of a role in the Beirut truck bombings that struck the American embassy in April 1983, which killed 63 people, and a US Marine barracks six months later that killed 241 people.
The US had offered $7 million for information about his whereabouts.
Fuad Shukr
An Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital on July 30 killed Hezbollah’s top commander Fuad Shukr, identified by the IDF as the right-hand man of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
Shukr was one of Hezbollah’s leading military figures since it was established by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards more than four decades ago.
The United States imposed sanctions on Shukr in 2015 and accused him of playing a central role in the 1983 bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut.
Muhammad Nasser
Muhammad Nasser was killed in an Israeli airstrike on July 3. Israel claimed responsibility, saying he headed a unit responsible for firing from southwestern Lebanon at Israel.
Nasser, a senior commander in Hezbollah, was responsible for a section of Hezbollah’s operations at the frontier, according to senior security sources in Lebanon.
Taleb Abdullah
Senior Hezbollah field commander Abdullah was killed on June 12 in a strike claimed by Israel, which said it had 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 was of the same rank as Nasser.
Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Hamas amid the war in Gaza, which began when Hamas-led terrorists invaded Israel on October 7, slaughtered 1,200 people and abducting 251 hostages.
So far, the northern border skirmishes have resulted in 26 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 22 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
Hezbollah has named 483 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. Another 79 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have also been killed.
Hamas
Muhammad Deif
Israel’s military said Deif was killed after fighter jets struck in the area of Khan Younis in Gaza on July 13 following an intelligence assessment. The elusive Deif had survived seven Israeli assassination attempts.
Deif is believed to have been one of the masterminds of Hamas’ October 7 attack.
Ismail Haniyeh
Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the early hours of July 31 in Iran, the Palestinian terror group said.
Haniyeh was killed by a missile that hit him directly in a state guesthouse where he was staying. Israel has not claimed responsibility.
Saleh al-Arouri
An Israeli drone strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs of Dahiyeh killed Deputy Hamas chief Saleh al-Arouri on January 2, 2024.
Arouri was also the founder of Hamas’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades.
The Times of Israel Staff contributed to this report.
