Israeli “Hits” On Terrorists

(Updated May 1, 2008)

This is a partial listing of instances where Israeli agents are known, or strongly believed to have assassinated people they accused of terrorism. Though Israel has long targeted its enemies, there have been two particular periods when agents actively hunted terrorists. The first was after the Munich Massacre when the decision was made to try to kill the 11 men behind the murder of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics.* The other period followed the launch of the“al-Aksa intifada” when Israel began to seek out and kill Palestinians who were involved in the planning and implementation of terrorist attacks after the Palestinian Authority failed to arrest them. Palestinians sometimes accuse Israel of planning to assassinate Yasser Arafat but Israel made a conscious decision that killing him would do more harm than good. There is little doubt, however, that Israel has had many opportunities to assassinate Arafat and could do so at any time. Israel is often blamed for killings that are the responsibility of others. This ranges from ridiculous claims such as the suggestion that the Mossad was responsible for the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, to false assertions that Israel assassinated terrorists who actually died while assembling bombs or in rivalries with competing Palestinian groups. Israel sometimes kills terrorists in shootouts or as they attempt to attack Israelis, but these are not targeted assassinations. The list below is based on reports where Israel specifically aimed to kill and individual or individuals before they could carry out an attack or as retribution for prior incidents.

July 11, 1956	A double agent delivered a booby-trapped book that killed Mustafa Hafaz, Egypt's commander of intelligence in Gaza. Hafaz was responsible for sending Palestinian terrorists into southern Israel.
July 8, 1972	On May 30, 27 people were killed and 80 wounded at Lod airport by Japanese terrorists recruited by the PFLP, Ghassan Kanafani, a member of the PFLP Central Comman, was killed when his booby-trapped car explodes. His 17-year-old niece, traveling unexpectedly with him, also died.
July 25, 1972	The PFLP's information officer, Bassam Abou Shari is severely wounded when a package explodes in his hands.
October 16, 1972	Wael Zwaiter, a cousin of Yasser Arafat, is shot dead in the lobby of his Rome apartment building.
December 8, 1972	Mahmoud Hamshari, a leader of Black September and coordinator of the Munich Massacre is killed in Paris when his telephone explodes.
January 24, 1973	A bomb explodes in the hotel room of the PLO's Hussein Al Bashr in Nicosia, Cyprus.
April 6, 1973	Munich terrorist Basil al-Kubaisi of the PFLP is gunned down on a Paris street.
April 9, 1973	In "Operation Spring of Youth," Munich terrorists Kamal Nasser, an official spokesman for the PLO, Mahmoud Yussuf Najjer, the PLO's "Foreign minister," and Kemal Adwan, Fatah's director of sabotage, are murdered in their Beirut apartments.
April 12, 1973	Zaid Muchassi is killed in an explosion in his Athens hotel room.
June 28, 1973	Mohammed Boudia, head of PFLP operations in Europe, dies when his car explodes in Paris.
January 22, 1979	Ali Hassan Salameh, operational chief for Black September at Munich is killed by a remote-control bomb in Beirut.
April 16, 1988	Commandos shoot the PLO's number two man, Khalil El-Wazir (Abu Jihad) in bed with his wife in Tunis. His wife was unharmed.
February 16, 1992	Two Israeli assault helicopters attack a convoy in Lebanon and use missiles to destroy the car carrying Abbas Musawi, secretary general of Hizballah. His wife and son were also killed.
October 26, 1995	Mossad agents assassinate Fathi Shikaki, the Damascus-based head of Islamic Jihad, on a street in Sleima, Malta. Shikaki had been behind a January 1995 bombing near Netanya that killed 21 soldiers.
January 6, 1996	A bomb is planted in the cellular phone of Yehiya Ayyash, the Hamas bombmaker known as "The Engineer." He is killed when it explodes in Gaza.
Nov. 9, 2000	Hussein Abayat, a Fatah member and local leader of the intifada was killed when an Israeli helicopter gunship rocketed his car near Bethlehem.
Nov. 22, 2000	IDF forces killed Jamal Abdel Raziq, a senior member of the Tanzim, and three other Tanzim members.
Nov. 23, 2000	Hamas member Ibrahim Abdel Karim Bani was killed when a bomb exploded in the car he was driving. Israeli sources insinuated Bani was transporting explosives that detonated prematurely, but PA security forces arrested Bani's cousin, who reportedly confessed to tipping off the IDF about Bani's whereabouts.
December 10, 2001	Israeli soldiers fired on two Palestinians who reportedly were planting a roadside bomb near Bethlehem, killing Mahmoud Mugrabi, a member of Fatah. According to press reports quoting a senior IDF official, Mugrabi's name was on a list of ten reputed terrorists that the IDF had targeted for killing.
December 31, 2001	IDF soldiers killed Dr. Thabet Ahmad Thabet, a high-ranking member of Fatah.
February 13, 2001	Massoud Ayyad, a lieutenant colonel in Force 17 was killed when Israeli helicopter gunships fired four missiles into his car as he drove on the outskirts of the Jabaliya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.
July 31, 2001	Jamal Mansour, a senior Hamas leader, and his brother, Omar Mansour, were killed by Israeli helicopter gunships.
August 20, 2001	Imad Abu Sneneh, a leader of the Tanzim, was shot in Hebron.
August 27, 2001	Israeli helicopter fires a missile through the window of the Ramallah office of Abu Ali Mustafa, killing the head of the PFLP.
October 14, 2001	Abed Rahman Hamad, a senior member of the Hamas military wing, was shot by snipers at his home in Qalqilya.
October 15, 2001	Hamas activist Ahmad Marshoud was killed in a car bomb explosion in the West Bank town of Nablus.
October 16, 2001	Hamas activist Iyad al Akhras was killed when an explosive device went off inside his house.
October 18, 2001	Atif Abayyat, a member of the Fatah Military Wing, was killed along with two other people when a car exploded in Beit Sahour. This followed the assassination of Israeli Cabinet Minister Rechavam Zeevi by the PFLP.
October 31, 2001	Hamas militant Jamil Jaddala was killed by Israeli security forces in Hebron in a helicopter missile attack.
Nov. 1, 2001	Helicopter gunships attack a car in the West Bank city of Tulkarem and kill Yasser Atsida and Fahmi Abu Aisha, both members of the Hamas military wing/jsource
Nov. 12, 2001	Senior Hamas leader Mohammed Hassan Reihan, wanted for the 1998 killing of two Israelis, was killed in a gunfight with Israeli forces at his West Bank home in Tel.
Nov. 23, 2001	Israeli helicopters firing rockets killed Mahmoud Abu Hanoud, a senior Hamas commander in the West Bank. Hanoud's deputy Ayman Hashaykah and Hashaykah's brother, a lower-ranking Hamas activist were also killed. Hanoud was convicted by the Palestinian Authority of leading an unauthorized military cell and sentenced to a12-year jail term. He was later released.
January 14, 2002	Raed Mahmoud Karmi, commander of Tulkarm's main Tanzim gang which murdered at least six Israelis, was killed when a car he was sitting in blew up. Israel had asked the PA to imprison Karmi, but Arafat refused.
January 22, 2002	An IDF special operations unit killed Jasser Samaro and Nassim Abu Rus, who were on a list of wanted terrorists Israel submitted on to the Palestinian Authority. The two served as Hamas's regional bomb-preparation experts. Two other Hamas members, Yousef Suraj and Karim Masarja, were also killed.
January 25, 2002	Adli Hamdan, head of Hamas's Izzadin Kassam military wing, was killed in Khan Yunis when an IAF Apache helicopter fired two missiles at his car. Hamdan was believed to have been involved in an attack that left four soldiers IDF soldiers dead, and in the manufacture of mortars.
February 5, 2002	Israeli forces killed five members of the DFLP in a strike on a car carrying the terrorists..
March 5, 2002	The IDF targeted Mohand Said Muniyer Diriya, a member of Force 17 and the operations officer for the Tanzim. Diriya wa killed along with two other members of Force 17, Fawzi Hamdi Mustafa Maher and Oman Kaidan in Ramallah.
March 6, 2002	Israel did not confirm the attack, but was believed to ahve killed Hamas member Abdel Rahman Ghadal in a missile attack on his home in Gaza City.
March 14, 2002	An Israeli attack helicopter fired a missile that killed Mutasen Hamad, a leader of the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, and Fatah activist Maher Balbiti. Hamad was considered a top bomb maker for the Tanzim.
April 22, 2002	The Tanzim militia leader in Hebron, Marwan Zaloum, and his top aide, Samir Abu Rajoub, a member of Force 17, were killed in an Israeli helicopter strike. Zaloum was believed to be responsible for numerous shooting attacks and bombings, including the March 2001 killing of Shalhevet Pass, a 10-month-old infant, in a sniper attack in Hebron.
June 30, 2002	Hamas master bomber Muhaned Taher and his deputy Imad Draoza were killed in a raid in Nablus by IDF naval commandos. Taher, known as "the Engineer 4," was responsible for supplying the the bombs used in the June 18, 2002, Jerusalem bus bombing that killed 19 and wounded 70, and in the June 1, 2001, Tel Aviv disco attack that killed 21.
July 4, 2002	Jihad Amerin, the Gaza Strip leader of the al-Aska Martyrs Brigade, a terrorist militia affiliated with Yasser Arafat's Fatah organization, was killed in a car blast.
July 23, 2002	The leader of the Hamas military wing in the Gaza Strip, Salah Shehada, was killed when Israeli military aircraft rocketed his house. Unfortunally, fourteen others, including his family, were killed in the blast.
July 23, 2002	West Bank Hamas commander Nasser Asida was shot and killed by IDF soldiers of the Haruv Battalion.
October 29, 2002	Assim Sawafta, 19, a ringleader of the Hamas military wing Izzedine al Qassam. was killed by an undercover army unit.
November 26, 2002	Alah Sabbagh, the local leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and Imad Nasrti, a leader of Hamas in Jenin, were killed in an Israeli air strike in the Jenin refugee camp.
December 23, 2002	Shaman Hassan Subah and Mustafa Kash of Hamas were killed in an IDF ambush near Jenin.
March 8, 2003	Israeli attack helicopters fired missiles that killed Ibrahim Makdme, the number two person in the Hamas leadership and the leader of its military wing.
April 8, 2003	Helicopter missiles struck the car driven by Hamas commander Said al-Arabid, killing him and two other Hamas members.
April 9, 2003	Senior Islamic Jihad commander and bomb maker Mahmoud Zatma, 30, was killed when a missile fired by an IAF Apache helicopter hit the car he was driving in Gaza City.
April 10, 2003	An undercover Border Police unit shot and killed Fatah Tanzim fugitive Yasser Alemi in Tulkarm.
April 29, 2003	In the Gaza Strip, four missiles fired from an air force helicopter at a car in the southern Gaza Strip killed the local military leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Nidal Salameh.
May 8, 2003	Air Force helicopters fired three missiles at a car carrying Iyad el-Bek of Hamas, an aide to former Hamas military leader Salah Shehade.
June 11, 2003	Hamas activists, Tito Massoud and Soffil Abu Nahez, were killed by missiles fired from an air force helicopter.
June 12, 2003	Hamas activists, Jihad Srour and Yasser Taha were killed by missiles fired from an air force helicopter.
August 21, 2003	Senior Hamas leader Ismail Abu Shanab and two bodyguards were killed by an Israeli air strike.
August 24, 2003	Hamas activists Walid el Hams, Ahmed Eshtwi, Ahmed Abu Halala and Muhammad Abu Lubda were killed and a fifth Hamas member was critically wounded in a helicopter strike.
August 26, 2003	Khaled Massoud, active in the development of Hamas' Kassam rockets, was mortally wounded by an Israeli missile strike in Gaza City.
August 28, 2003	An Air Force helicopter fired a missile that killed Hamdi Khalaq, a member of Hamas' military wing, Izzedine al Qassam.
August 30, 2003	Air Force helicopters fired four missiles at a van in the Gaza Strip killing Hamas activists Abdullah Akel and Farid Mayet.
September 1, 2003	Air Force helicopters fired four missiles at a car in the Gaza Strip killing Hamas activist Khader Houssre.
December 25, 2003	Mustafa Sabah, a bombmaker and mastermind of three bomb attacks against Merkava tanks in the Gaza Strip was killed in an IAF strike in Gaza City.
December 25, 2003	An Israeli missile strike on a car in Gaza City killed the head of the Islamic Jihad military wing in Gaza, Makled Hamid.
February 7, 2004	Aziz Mahmoud Shami, leader of Islamic Jihad's military wing in Gaza city , was killed by an Israeli missile strike.
February 28, 2004	Israeli helicopter gunships killed three Islamic Jihad fugitives riding in a car in Gaza. Mahmoud Juda was a senior commander and his cousins Aiyman Dahduh and Amin Dahduh were members of the terrorist group.
March 3, 2004	Three senior members of Hamas, Tarad Jimali, Ibrahim Diri, and Omar Hassan, were killed by an Israeli missile
March 16, 2004	Nidal Salfiti and Shadi Muhana of Islamic Jihad were killed in an Israeli missile strike in Gaza.
March 22, 2004	Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the leader of Hamas, along with his personal escorts, Khalil Abu Jiab and Ayoub Atallah (who were also active in the "military wing" of Hamas), and son and confidante Abdul Aziz Eini Yassin, were killed in an Israeli missile strike in Gaza.
April 17, 2004	Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi when missiles fired from IAF helicopters slammed into his car not far from his home in central Gaza City
May 5, 2004	Hamas leader Imad Mohammed Janajra was shot by Israeli security forces as he approached his village of Taluza, outside Nablus.
May 30, 2004	Wael Nassar, a top Hamas commander, along with his assistant, Mohammed Sarsour, were killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza.
June 14, 2004	Khalil Marshud, an Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade commander, was killed in an IAF helicopter gunship strike..
June 26, 2004	Nablus Fatah Tanzim head Nayef Abu Sharkh, a commander of Hamas, Jafer el-Massari, a commander of Islamic Jihad, Fadi Bagit, and Sheikh Ibrahim, Islamic Jihad's top commander in the West Bank were killed in an IDF ambush in Nablus.
July 22, 2004	A helicopter strike killed two members of Islamic Jihad, including Hazem Rahim, a local commander who seized the body parts of Israeli soldiers killed when a roadside bomb destroyed their armored personnel carrier on May 11 .
July 29, 2004	A helicopter strike killed Amr Abu Suta and Zaki Abu Rakha of the Ahmed Abu Reish Brigade.
August 17, 2004	An Israeli missile strike in Gaza City killed three members of Hamas, and a member of Islamic Jihad, but the main target, Hamas leader Ahmed Jabari, escaped with light injuries.
September 13, 2004	Mahmud Abu Khalifa, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade commander in Jenin, was killed along with two of his assistants, Amjad Husni Aref Ayoub and Yamen Faisel Abed al Wahab Ayoub, in an Israeli air strike.
September 20, 2004	An Israeli air strike in Gaza killed Khaled Abu Shamiyeh of Hamas.
September 21, 2004	An Israeli air strike in Gaza killed Nabil al-Saedi and Rabah Zaqout.
September 27, 2004	Izz Eldine Subhi Sheik Khalil of Hamas was killed when his car exploded in Damascus, Syria. Israel would not confirm or deny responsibility, but was believed to have carried out the targeted killing.
September 27, 2004	An Israeli helicopter fired a missile at a car east of the city of Khan Younis, killing Ali al-Shaer, a member of the Popular Resistance Committees, an umbrella of dissidents from several terrorist groups. The intended target, Mohammed Abu Nasira, a commander of the group, survived.
October 6, 2004	Bashir Dabash, head of the military arm of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza, and Zarees Alareer of Islamic Jihad were killed in an IDF missile strike.
October 21, 2004	An Israeli air strike in Gaza killed Adnan Al-Ghoul and Imad al-Baas of Hamas.
July 16, 2005	The IAF struck a vehicle carrying four senior Hamas terrorists and weaponry which included numerous Qassam rockets in Gaza city.
July 17, 2005	An Israeli sniper killed Sayid Isa Jabar Tziam, a Hamas commander involved in numerous infiltrations into Israeli communities, the firing of mortar shells at Israeli targets, and the detonation of tunnels and explosive devices.
September 25, 2005	Senior Islamic Jihad terrorist Sheikh Mohammed Khalil was killed in an IAF missile strike in the Gaza Strip
October 27, 2005	The IAF fired a rocket into a vehicle in Gaza killing Shadi Mehana, the senior Islamic Jihad commander in the northern Gaza Strip.
November 1, 2005	In an air strike in Gaza, missiles pulverized a car carrying Hassan Madhoun, a leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, and Fawzi Abu Kara of Hamas, a specialist in the manufacture of rockets and explosives.
December 7, 2005	IAF aircraft fired a missile into a moving vehicle in the Gaza Strip killing Mahmoud Arkan, a commander from the Popular Resistance.
December 8, 2005	An IAF missile struck a house in the northern Gaza Strip, killing Ayad Nagar and Ziyad Qaddas, from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade.
December 14, 2005	Four members of the Popular Resistance Committees in the Gaza Strip.
January 2, 2006	An IAF airstrike killed senior Islamic Jihad militant Sayid Abu-Gadian and his aide, Akram Gadasas. A third Jihad man riding with them in a car at the time of the attack was seriously injured, and later died of his wounds.
February 5, 2006	An IAF airstrike killed Islamic Jihad “rocket engineer” Adnan Bustan and his aide, Jihad Sawafiri.
February 6, 2006	An IAF airstrike in Gaza City killed two members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades — Hassan Asfour and Rami Hanouna — who were responsible for firing Qassam rockets from Gaza into Israel.
February 7, 2006	An IAF airstrike killed two senior commanders of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades — Mohammed Abu Shariya and Suheil Al Bakker.
March 6, 2006	An IAF airstrike killed Islamic Jihad terrorists Munir Mahmed Mahmed Sukhar and Iyad Abu Shalouf.
May 20, 2006	An IAF airstrike killed Islamic Jihad terrorist Mohammed Dahdoh.
June 5, 2006	An IAF jet fired missiles into a car traveling in northern Gaza City, killing Majdi Hamed and Eiman Assiylia, both senior militants from the Popular Resistance Committees.
June 9, 2006	The IAF attacked a training camp of the Salah al-Din Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committee, in the Rafah area, killing PRC leader Jamal Abu Samhadana, one of the most wanted individuals by Israel.
June 13, 2006	An IAF airstrike killed Islamic Jihad terrorists Hamoud Wadiya, the group's top rocket launcher, and Shawki Sayklia.
July 2, 2006	An IAF airstrike killed Ismail al-Masri of Hamas.
August 9, 2006	An IAF airstrike in Jenin killed Islamic Jihad terrorists Osama Attili and Mohammed Atik.
October 12, 2006	Three members of Hamas - the group's local commander and two other operatives - were killed when an IAF-fired missile struck their car in Beit Lahiya.
October 14, 2006	IAF aircraft fired missiles at a car in Gaza City, killing at least one member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and wounding three, one of them seriously. All were involved in Kassam rocket attacks.
November 8, 2006	Ahmed Awad, the head of Hamas's Kassam rocket firing unit, was killed along with another Hamas member when missiles struck their car as it traveled in the southern Gaza Strip.
November 20, 2006	An IAF airstrike in Gaza City killed Abdel Khader Habib, a Hamas field commander, and his bodyguard.
May 17, 2007	An IAF airstrike in Gaza City killed Imad Shabanah, a top commander of a Hamas rocket manufacturing cell.
June 1, 2007	An IAF airstrike killed Fawzi Abu Mustafa from an Islamic Jihad Kassam cell.
June 24, 2007	An IAF airstrike killed Hussan Khalil al-Hur, an Islamic Jihad gunman, who fired Kassam rockets at Sderot earlier in the day, wounding three people.
October 23, 2007	An Israeli aircraft attacked a car in central Gaza, destroying the vehicle and killing Mubarak al-Hassanat, a Hamas man described by Palestinian officials as an Interior Ministry member
December 17, 2007	IAF aircraft blasted two cars in Gaza City, killing five Islamic Jihad terrorists, including Majed Harazin, a top Islamic Jihad commander for both the West Bank and Gaza in charge of rocket squads who was on Israel’s wanted list for nine years
January 13, 2008	Three Palestinian terrorists were killed and one was wounded in an IAF strike. One of men targeted was Nidal Amudi, a senior Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades operative involved in Kassam rocket attacks on Sderot.
January 17, 2008	A leader of the Popular Resistance Committees was killed along with his wife when the IAF targeted his car as they traveled in Beit Lahia in the Gaza Strip.
January 21, 2008	Ahmad Abu Sharia, a top Aksa Martyrs Brigades commander responsible for firing rockets at Israel, was hit by an IAF missile as he walked in the street.
February 4, 2008	An IAF air strike killed Abu Said Qarmout, the leader in northern Gaza of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC).
April 14, 2008	IAF aircraft struck in northern Gaza, killing Ibrahim Abu Olba, a top commander in the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
April 30, 2008	An Israeli airstrike killed Nafez Mansour, a Hamas terrorist involved in the abduction of Gilad Shalit.

*Israel also has occasionally made mistakes in its war on terror. The most notorious was the murder of a Norwegian waiter in Lillehammer on July 21, 1973, who was mistaken for Munich terrorist Ali Hassan Salameh. The incident significantly restricted Israel's ability to pursue terrorists outside the Middle East.

Source: CNN; Jerusalem Report, (November 5, 2001); Jonas, George. Vengeance. NY: Bantam Books, 1985; Livingstone, Neil C. and David Halevy. Inside the PLO. Readers Digest Press, 1990; Steven, Stewart. The Spymasters of Israel. NY: Ballantine, 1986; Jerusalem Post (various dates); Samuel M. Katz, "Assassination," Moment, (October 2001); State Department Report on Human Rights Practices for 2000.