Israeli Targeted Killings of Terrorists

This list is based on instances where Israel specifically aimed to kill terrorists, either before they could carry out an attack or as retribution for prior attacks. It does not include those who may have been killed in undisclosed operations. As of today, at least 305 people have died in targeted killings. Many Hamas leaders were targeted during the war in Gaza but not included here. Some Hamas operatives were killed outside Gaza and counted below.

There have been two particular periods when Israel actively hunted terrorists:
- Following the Munich Massacre against those responsible for murdering the Israeli Olympians.
- During Al-Aqsa Intifada, against those involved in the planning or implementation of terror attacks.

In addition, since at least 2007, Israel is believed to have hunted and killed Iranian scientists involved in its nuclear weapons program.

Israel acknowledges very few of the targeted killings, so some of these listed are speculative based on news reports and claims by various terrorist organizations.

DATE	TARGET	AFFILIATION	INCIDENT/REASON
September 10	Muhammad Qassem al-Shaer	Hezbollah	Commander in elite Radwan force killed in a drone strike.
August 28, 2024	Firas Qasem	Palestine Islamic Jihad	Qasem was a member of PIJ’s operations unit. Two more PIJ operatives were killed in the strike, along with Hezbollah operative Muhammad Taha, but the IDF did not mention targeting them.
August 23, 2024	Muhammad Najam, Saeed Mahmoud Diab	Hezbollah	Members of Hezbollah’s rocket and missile unit in southern Lebanon.
August 21, 2024	Khalil Hussein Khalil Al-Maqdah	IRGC	Killed in airstrike in Lebanon.
August 20, 2024	Saleh al-Arouri	Hamas	Deputy chairman of Hamas’s political bureau and the commander of the group's military wing in the occupied West Bank, was killed in a drone attack in a Beirut suburb.
August 19, 2024	Hussein Suleiman	Hezbollah	Member of the group’s rocket and missile unit.
August 9, 2024	Samer Mahmoud al-Haj	Hamas	Commander killed in an airstrike in Lebanon.
July 31, 2024	Ismail Haniyeh	Hamas	The chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau was killed while visiting Tehran.
July 30, 2024	Fuad Shukr	Hezbollah	Senior military commander and right-hand man to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
July 18, 2024	Habib Maatouk	Hezbollah	Senior commander in the elite Radwan force.
July 18, 2024	Muhammed Jabara	Hamas	Commander killed in Lebanon.
July 15, 2024	Mohammad Baraa Qatarji	IRGC	Qatarji was a Syrian businessman who the United States had sanctioned for his involvement in trading fuel between Syria and ISIS.
July 9, 2024	Yasser Nimer Qarnabash	Hezbollah	Qarnabash was involved in the weapons smuggling from Iran through Syria. He was also a former bodyguard to Hezbollah leader Nasrallah.
July 8, 2024	Mustafa Hassan Salman	Hezbollah	Salman was an operative in the Rockets and Missiles Unit.
July 7, 2024	Meitam Mustafa Al Atar	Hezbollah	Al Atar was an air defense expert.
July 3, 2024	Muhammad Nimah Nasser	Hezbollah	Nasser commanded Hezbollah’s Aziz unit, one of three regional divisions in south Lebanon.
June 27, 2024	Ali al-Din	Hezbollah	Al-Din was a member of Hezbollah’s aerial forces, behind drone attacks on northern Israel.
June 22, 2024	Ayman Ratma	Hamas	Ratma was responsible for weapons supplies for the Hamas and Jamaa Islamiya terrorist organizations in Lebanon,
June 12, 2024	Taleb Abdallah	Hezbollah	Abdallah, a senior commander, was killed with three other terrorists in an airstrike.
May 23, 2024	Ali Nasser Faran	Hezbollah	Terrorist responsible for manufacturing strategic and specialized weapons.
May 19, 2024	Azmi Abu Daqqa	Hamas	Operative in Hamas’s procurement department.
May 18, 2024	Islam Khamayseh	Islamic Jihad	Wanted for his involvement in a series of terror attacks.
May 14, 2024	Hussain Ibrahim	Hezbollah	Senior field commander killed in air strike.
April 16, 2024	Ismail Yousef Baz and Muhammad Hussein Mustafa Shehour	Hezbollah	Baz, the commander of Hezbollah’s coastal district, was killed in a strike on a car near Tyre. In another hit, Shehoury, the commander of one of the Radwan Force’s rocket and missile units, was killed.
April 7, 2024	Ali Ahmad Hussein	Hezbollah	Commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force
April 1, 2024	Gen. Mohamad Reza Zahedi	IRGC	Zahedi oversaw Iran’s covert military operations in Syria and Lebanon. Two other generals and four officers in the Quds Force were also killed.
March 12, 2024	Hadi Ali Mustafa	Hamas	An operative involved in international terror activities, Mustafa was killed in an airstrike in Lebanon.
March 1, 2024	Rada Zarai	IRGC	Zarai was a commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ elite Quds Force. Two others were also killed.
February 22, 2024	Hassan Saleh	Hezbollah	Saleh and two others were killed in a drone strike. Saleh was a missile expert.
February 15, 2024	Ali Muhammad al-Debes and Ibrahim Issa.	Hezbollah	Al-Debes was Commander of Hezbollah Radwan Force and his deputy.
January 20, 2024	Hojjatollah Omidvar, Ali Aghazadeh, Hossein Mohammadi, Saeed Karimi and Mohammad Amin Samad	IRGC	Members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s Quds force.
January 9, 2024	Ali Hussein Barj	Hezbollah	Commander of Hezbollah’s drone force.
January 9, 2024	Hassan Abeid al-Hussein Ismail and two others	Hezbollah	Head of drone operations.
January 8, 2024	Hassan Hakashah	Hamas	Responsible for rocket attacks from Syria.
January 8, 2024	Wissam Al Tawil	Hezbollah	Senior commander responsible for a local Radwan Brigade and and an attack on an Israeli military base.
January 2, 2024	Saleh Al-Arouri, zzam Al-Aqra, and Samir Fendi	Hamas	Deputy head of the political bureau and commanders of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades in the West Bank.
December 25, 2023	Razi Mousavi	IRGC	Senior official.
May 12, 2023	Iyad al-Hassani	Palestine Islamic Jihad	Senior commander.
May 11, 2023	Ali Ghassan Ghali, Ahmad Abu Deka	Palestine Islamic Jihad	Commander of PIJ rocket units and coordinator of attacks.
May 9, 2023	Jihad Ghannam, Khalil Al-Bahtini, and Tareq Izzeldeen	Palestine Islamic Jihad	Senior commanders.
March 19, 2023	Ramzi al-Aswad	Islamic Jihad	Senior commander.
October 22, 2022	Tamer al-Kilani	Lion’s Den	Senior operative who helped execute attacks against Israelis.
August 5-8, 2022	PIJ Tayseer al-Jabiri, Abdallah Kadum, and Khaled Mansour	Palestine Islamic Jihad	Commanders responsible for rocket and terror attacks, and constructing attack tunnels targeted in Operation Breaking Dawn.
May 18-19, 2021	Hassan Kaogi, head of Hamas military intelligence security department; Wail Issa, head of Hamas military intelligence counter-espionage department; Majhad Hadidi, Control engineer, research, development, and manufacturing project; Mahmoud Fares, Head of the mechanic's desk, research, development, and manufacturing project; Thafer Shu, Desk head, research, development, and manufacturing project;	Hamas	Responsible for various terrorist activities and neutralized during Operation Guardian of the Wall.
May 17, 2021	Husam Abu-Harbid	Palestine Islamic Jihad	As an Islamic Jihad commander for 15 years, he was behind rocket launches, shootings, and anti-tank missile attacks on Israel.
May 12, 2021	Bassem Issa, the commander of the Gaza City Brigade; Jomaa Tahla, commander of Hamas’ cyber system and rocket audit project; Jamal al-Zibdeh, leader of the development project in the rocket production system; Kazem al-Khatib, commander of the engineering unit in the rocket production system; Sami Radwan, commander of the technical directorate in Hamas’ military intelligence; and Walid Shamali, commander of the industrial equipment directorate in the military production system.	Palestine Islamic Jihad / Hamas	Launched rockets into Israel to start war that became Operation Guardian of the Wall.
November 27, 2020	Mohsen Fakhrizadeh**	Iranian scientist	Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was the head of Iran’s nuclear weapons program and a Brigadier General in the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps. He was killed in an ambush.
August 7, 2020	Abu Muhammad al-Masri	Al-Qaeda	Al-Masri, the number two leader of al-Qaeda was accused of being one of the masterminds of the deadly 1998 attacks on American embassies in Africa. His daughter, Miriam, the widow of Osama bin Laden’s son Hamza bin Laden was also killed. The U.S. believed she was being groomed for a leadership role in al-Qaida and intelligence suggested she was involved in operational planning. They were reportedly killed by the Mossad at the request of the United States, which aided in tracking him to Tehran.
November 12, 2019	Baha Abu al-Ata	Palestine Islamic Jihad	The senior leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza ordered attacks on Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers and sought to disrupt the cease-fire between Israel and Gaza. He was believed to be planning imminent attacks which included preparing squads for infiltration of Israel, sniper attacks, booby-trapped drones, and rocket fire.
July 22, 2019	Mashhour Zidan	Hezbollah	Hezbollah operative involved in creating a military infrastructure along the Syrian border with Israel killed in Syria by an airstrike.
May 5, 2019	Hamed Ahmed Abed Khudari	Hamas	Khudari owned a money-changing company, which had been declared a terrorist group in 2018, and smuggled large amounts of cash from Iran to Islamic Jihad and Hamas. He was killed in an airstrike.
March 26, 2017	Mazen Fuqaha	Hamas	Fuqaha, a senior commander with Hamas who had spent nine years in an Israeli prison, was shot at point-blank range in the garage of his home. He was one of the 1,000+ Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for the safe return of Gilad Shalit to Israel.
December 17, 2016	Mohammed Zawahri	Hamas	Zawahri, a Hamas-affiliated drone and explosives expert, was assassinated by the Mossad while in Tunisia. Tunisian security forces recovered firearms with silencers in an abandoned vehicle following the attack.
December 20, 2015	Samir Kuntar	Hezbollah	Kuntar, who was released from Israeli prison in 2008, was killed on December 20, 2015 when rockets levelled the building that he was living in. He was a Hezbollah commander serving time for the 1979 murder of a police officer and two others including a young girl.
January 18, 2015	Mohamad Issa; Jihad Mughniyah; Abbas Ibrahim Hijazi; Mohammed Ali Hassan Abu al-Hassan; Ghazi Ali Dawi; Ali Hassan Ibrahim; Mohammad Ali Allahdadi	Hezbollah	An Israeli airstrike on a 2-car convoy killed six Hezbollah militants and one Iranian General. The strike killed two top Hezbollah members: Field Commander Mohamad Issa, and Jihad Mughniyah (son of Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh).
August 21, 2014	Mohammed Barhoum	Hamas	Barhoum was killed in the same attack that killed Shamalah and Attar. He was the most senior Hamas commander in the Rafah region.
August 21, 2014	Mohammed Abu Shamalah	Hamas	As Hamas’s senior most terror operative in the Southern Gaza Strip, Shamalah oversaw various terror activities aimed at killing Israeli civilians and soldiers. He has been involved in numerous attacks over the years including the 1994 murder of an IDF officer in Rafah, a 2004 attack on an IDF military post, and the attack that led to Gilad Shalit’s abduction. He was killed in a targetted air strike early on August 21.
August 21, 2014	Raed Attar	Hamas	Attar was a senior Hamas operative in charge of the Rafah region, and was directly involved in the planning and execution of the abduction of Gilad Shalit. He orchestrated attacks, smuggled weapons through tunnels, and generally oversaw all Hamas activity in the Rafah area, He was killed in a pre-dawn air strike on August 21.
July 8, 2014	Mohammed Shaaban	Hamas	Shaaban was the head of Hamas’ Naval Commando Unit until an air to ground missile from an Israeli aircraft killed him and two associates.
June 11 2014	Mohammed Awar	Hamas	IAF aircraft targeted Awar who had been involved in rocket attacks on Israel and had also served as member of the Hamas police force in Gaza.
March 3, 2014	Mus’ab Musa Za’aneen	Palestine Islamic Jihad	IAF aircraft targeted Za’aneen and three others as they prepared to launch a second rocket into Israel from the Gaza Strip. They successfully fired the first rocket that landed in an open field south of Ashkelon. Za’aneen was a member of the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad.
January 22, 2014	Ahmad Zaanin; Mahmoud Yousef Zaanin	Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)	IAF aircraft targeted Ahmad and Mahmoud Zaanin in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun. The relatives had been responsible for missile attacks on southern Israel over the past week and, according to the IDF, were soon to launch more rockets.
April 30, 2013	Hithem Ziad Ibrahim Masshal	"Freelance Terror Consultant"	IAF aircraft targeted Masshal in Gaza. Masshal was directly responsible for the April 17 firing of two rockets toward Eilat from the Sinai Peninsula. According the IDF, Masshal was also considered a terror expert in Gaza, regularly helping Salafi and Jihadi elements in their quest to fire rockets at Israel.
November 14 - 19, 2012	Ahmad Jabari; Hab’s Hassan Us Msamch; Muhammad Abu-Jala; Khaled Shaer; Osama Kadi; Muhammas Kalb; Ramz Harb; Yunis Shaluf	Hamas; Palestine Islamic Jihad	During Operation Pillar of Defense, the IDF targeted senior leaders in Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the main terror groups operating in the Gaza Strip and firing rockets at Israeli civilian areas. The operation commenced with the targeting of Jabari, the head of Hamas’ military wing, as he was riding in a car in northern Gaza. Jabari was integral to the planning of Gilad Shalit’s kidnapping in 2005 and helped carry out numerous other attacks. Hamas operatives Abu-Jala and Shaer were also commanders integral to the rocket launching and anti-tank divisions in Hamas. Kalb was a senior operative in the Hamas aerial defense operations and Harb was an Islamic Jihad senior operative in propaganda in Gaza city. Shaluf was responsible for rocket fire on Eilat several months ago.
October 14, 2012	Ezzedine Abu Nasira; Ahmad Fatayer	Hamas	The IDF striked Nasira and Fatayer near central Gaza for having fired a rocket into Israel that landed in the Eshkol regional council.
October 13, 2012	Hisham Abd al-Karim Saidani; Ashraf Sabah	Tawhid wal-Jihad	IAF aircraft attacked two motorcyclists who were affiliated with global jihad networks in the Gaza Strip
October 13, 2012	Hisham al-Saedini; Fayek Abu Jazar; Yasser Mohammad al-Atal	Mujahedeen Shura Council; Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine	Saedini was the leader of the Salafist group responsible for dozens of rocket attacks on Israel in the past six weeks. The IDF said the group was behind a January 2009 attack that killed an Israeli soldier and seriously wounded another; and that they were "planning a complex attack to be carried out along the Sinai border" in coordination with Salafists inside Egypt.
September 20, 2012	Anis Abu Mahmoud el-Anin; Ashraf Mahmoud Salah	Defenders of al-Aqsa (Hamas); Popular Resistance Committees	Anis was in the final stages of preparing an attack against Israeli civilians. In the past, Anis was involved in a number of attempted terror attacks that included smuggling explosive devices into Israel, in addition to directing certain terror activities in Judea and Samaria. Salah had admitted to transferring terrorists into Egypt in order to carry out a suicide attack in Israel; he was also involved in the buying and selling of weapons.
August 5, 2012	Nadi Okhal	Popular Resistance Committees	Targeted by the Israeli air force in the Tel Sultan neighborhood in southern Gaza. Okhal was allegedly involved in a June terrorist attack at ther Israel-Egypt border that killed one Israeli.
March 9, 2012	Zuhir Mussah Ahmed Kaisi; Mahmud Ahmed Hananni	Popular Resistance Committees Senior Operatives	Responsible for planning a combined terror attack that was to take place via Sinai in the coming days. Part of the terror infrastructure used to execute attacks via the Sinai Peninsula, and the Israel- Egypt border.
January 11, 2012	Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan**	Iranian nuclear scientist	Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan was an Iranian nuclear scientist who worked at the Natanz enrichment facility. He was killed by an explosive attached to his car.
December 9, 2011	Isam Subahi Isamil Batash	Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades Senior Commander	Targeted due to his involvement in the planning of terrorist attack on the Egypt-Israel border. Was also involved in previous terror attacks including a 2007 bombing in Eilat in which 3 civilians were killed.
October 29, 2011	Ahmed al-Sheikh Khalil	Palestine Islamic Jihad Commander/Munitions Expert	In retaliation for launching rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip earlier that day.
September 6, 2011	Khaled Sahmoud	Popular Resistance Committees Military Commander	Killed while preparing to launch mortar rounds from Gaza into Southern Israel. The PRC claim that Salmoud and his cell were able to fire five mortars before being killed.
August 24, 2011	Ismael al-Asmar	Palestine Islamic Jihad	Operative nvolved in smuggling weapons to Gaza and in militant activity in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Targeted for shooting off kassam rockets moments before the strike
August 18, 2011	Kamal Nirab; Imad Hamed; Khaled Shaat	Popular Resistance Committees Gaza Commander; Military Wing Commander; Senior Operative	The Popular Resistance Committee was said to have planned and staged the deadly, coordinated terrorist attacks against targets in southern Israel that resulted in the death of 7 Israelis - 6 civilians and 1 soldier.
July 23, 2011	Iranian physicist Darioush Rezaeinejad**	Iran	Darioush Rezaeinejad was a physics professor believed involved in Iran`s nuclear weapons program. He was shot five times and killed by motorcycle-riding gunmen.
April 2, 2011	Three Unidentified	Hamas	Strike aimed at the terrorist squad planning to kidnap Israelis in the Sinai Peninsula and Israel during the upcoming Passover holiday.
March 30, 2011	One Unidentified	Palestine Islamic Jihad	According to the IDF the cell was responsible for firing rockets into Israel.
January 11, 2011	Mohammed Najar	Palestine Islamic Jihad	Involved in the planning of a terror attack in Israel.
November 29, 2010	Majid Shahriari** ^	Iranian scientist	Majid Shahriari, was an Iranian nuclear scientist and engineer who worked with the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. He was killed by a bomb launched from a motorbike.
November 4, 2010	Mohammed Namnam	Army of Islam (Al-Qaeda) Senior Terrorist	Affiliated with al-Qaida and involved in the 2006 abduction of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.
July 30, 2010	Issa Batran	Hamas Senior Commander	Air strike
January 12, 2010	Masoud Alimohammadi**	Iranian physicist	Masoud Alimohammadi was an Iranian physicist believed involved in Iran`s nuclear weapons program. He was killed by a remote-controlled bomb attached to a motorcycle.
January 11, 2010	Awad Abu Nasir	Islamic Jihad Senior Field Commander	Known to have been behind dozens of IED and gunfire attacks against IDF soldiers.
June 17, 2008	Ma’ataz Dagmesh; Mahmud Shandi; Muhamad Asaliya	Army of Islam (Al-Qaeda) Senior Terror Operatives	Involved in recent attempts to execute a large-scale terror attack against Israeli targets. Dagmesh was the leader and planner of the thwarted terror attack. Asaliya served as the organization’s senior terror attacks planner.
April 30, 2008	Nafez Mansour	Hamas	Involved in the abduction of Gilad Shalit
April 14, 2008	Ibrahim Abu Olba	Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine Senior Commander	IAF aircraft struck in northern Gaza
February 12, 2008	Imad Mughniyah	Hezbollah commander	Killed in joint CIA-Mossad operation in Damascus when a car bomb was parked next to his car and detonated by remote-control.
February 4, 2008	Abu Said Qarmout	Popular Resistance Committees Leader of Northern Gaza	IAF airstrike in Gaza
January 21, 2008	Ahmad Abu Sharia	Aqsa Martyrs Brigades Senior Commander	Responsible for firing rockets at Israel, was hit by an IAF missile as he walked in the street.
January 17, 2008	One Unidentified	Popular Resistance Committees	Killed along with his wife when the IAF targeted his car as they traveled in Beit Lahiya in the Gaza Strip.
January 13, 2008	Nidal Amudi	Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades Senior Operative	Involved in Qassam rocket attacks on Sderot.
December 17, 2007	Majed Harazin	Islamic Jihad Senior Commander in West Bank/Gaza	In charge of rocket squads firing at Israel and was on Israel’s wanted list for nine years
October 23, 2007	Mubarak al-Hassanat	Hamas	Israeli aircraft attacked a car in central Gaza, destroying the vehicle
June 24, 2007	Hussan Khalil al-Hur	Palestine Islamic Jihad	Fired Qassam rockets at Sderot earlier in the day, wounding three people.
June 1, 2007	Fawzi Abu Mustafa	Palestine Islamic Jihad	Member of militant Qassam cell
May 17, 2007	Imad Shabanah	Hamas Senior Commander	Commanded rocket manufacturing cell.
January 15, 2007	Ardeshir Hosseinpour**	Iranian nuclear scientist	Ardeshir Hosseinpour was an Iranian nuclear scientist, physics professor, and electromagnetism expert who was involved in the Iranian nuclear program believed to have been killed by radiation poisoning.
November 20, 2006	Abdel Khader Habib	Hamas Field Commander	IAF airstrike in Gaza City
November 8, 2006	Ahmed Awad	Hamas Head of Qassam Rocket unit	Killed along with another Hamas member when missiles struck their car as it traveled in the southern Gaza Strip.
October 14, 2006	One Unidentified	Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades	IAF aircraft fired missiles at a car in Gaza City, killing at least one member involved in Qassam rocket attacks.
October 12, 2006	Three Unidentified	Hamas	Hamas local commander and two other operatives killed when an IAF-fired missile struck their car in Beit Lahiya.
August 9, 2006	Osama Attili: Mohammed Atik	Palestine Islamic Jihad	IAF airstrike in Jenin.
July 2, 2006	Ismail al-Masri	Hamas	IAF airstrike.
June 13, 2006	Hamoud Wadiya; Shawki Sayklia.	Palestine Islamic Jihad	Top rocket launchers.
June 9, 2006	Jamal Abu Samhadana	Popular Resistance Committees Senior Leader	Member of Salah al-Din Military Brigades, one of the most wanted individuals by Israel. IAF attack in Rafah.
June 5, 2006	Majdi Hamed; Eiman Assiylia	Popular Resistance Committees Senior Terrorists	IAF jet fired missiles into a car traveling in northern Gaza City
May 20, 2006	Mohammed Dahdoh	Palestine Islamic Jihad	IAF airstrike.
March 6, 2006	Munir Mahmed Sukhar; Iyad Abu Shalouf.	Palestine Islamic Jihad	IAF airstrike.
February 7, 2006	Mohammed Abu Shariya; Suheil Al Bakker	Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades Senior Field Commanders	IAF airstrike.
February 6, 2006	Hassan Asfour; Rami Hanouna	Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades	Responsible for firing Qassam rockets from Gaza into Israel. IAF airstrike in Gaza City.
February 5, 2006	Adnan Bustan	Palestine Islamic Jihad	“Rocket engineer,” IAF airstrike.
January 2, 2006	Sayid Abu-Gadian	Palestine Islamic Jihad Senior Militant	IAF airstrike.
December 14, 2005	Four Unidentified	Popular Resistance Committees Active Members	IAF airstrike.
December 8, 2005	Ayad Nagar; Ziyad Qaddas	Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade	IAF missile struck a house in the northern Gaza Strip.
December 7, 2005	Mahmoud Arkan	Popular Resistance Committees Senior Commander	IAF aircraft fired a missile into a moving vehicle in the Gaza Strip.
November 1, 2005	Hassan Madhoun; Fawzi Abu Kara	Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade Senior Leader; Hamas Rocket Expert	Airstrike in Gaza.
October 27, 2005	Shadi Mehana	Palestine Islamic Jihad Senior Commander, Northern Gaza	IAF fired a rocket into a vehicle in Gaza.
September 25, 2005	Sheikh Mohammed Khalil	Islamic Jihad Senior Operative	IAF missile strike in the Gaza Strip.
July 17, 2005	Sayid Isa Jabar Tziam	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. Killed by an IDF sniper
July 16, 2005	Four Unidentified	Hamas Senior Operatives	IAF struck a vehicle carrying the men and numerous Qassam rockets in Gaza city.
October 21, 2004	Adnan Al-Ghoul; Imad al-Baas	Hamas	Israeli airstrike in Gaza.
October 6, 2004	Bashir Dabash; Zarees Alareer	Palestine Islamic Jihad Heads of Military Arm in Gaza	IDF missile strike.
September 27, 2004	Ali al-Shaer	Popular Resistance Committees Senior Member	Israeli helicopter fired a missile at a car east of the city of Khan Younis. The intended target, Mohammed Abu Nasira, a commander of the group, survived.
September 27, 2004	Izz Eldine Subhi Sheik Khalil	Hamas	Killed when his car exploded in Damascu. Israel would not confirm or deny responsibility, but was believed to have carried out the targeted killing.
September 21, 2004	Nabil al-Saedi; Rabah Zaqout	Hamas	Israeli airstrike in Gaza
September 20, 2004	Khaled Abu Shamiyeh	Hamas	Israeli airstrike in Gaza
September 13, 2004	Mahmud Abu Khalifa	Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade Commander in Jenin	Killed along with two of his assistants in an Israeli airstrike.
August 17, 2004	Four Unidentified	Hamas; I Palestine Islamic Jihad	Israeli missile strike in Gaza City; main target, Hamas leader Ahmed Jabari, escaped with light injuries.
July 29, 2004	Amr Abu Suta; Zaki Abu Rakha.	Ahmed Abu Reish Brigade	A helicopter strike.
July 22, 2004	Hazem Rahim	Islamic Jihad Local Commander	Seized the body parts of Israeli soldiers killed when a roadside bomb destroyed their armored personnel carrier on May 11. Helicopter strike.
June 26, 2004	Nayef Abu Sharkh; Jafer el-Massari; Fadi Bagit; Sheikh Ibrahim	Fatah Tanzim Nablus Commander; Hamas Senior Commander; Palestine Islamic Jihad Senior Commanders in the West Bank	IDF ambush in Nablus.
June 14, 2004	Khalil Marshud	al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade	IAF helicopter gunship strike
May 30, 2004	Wael Nassar	Hamas	Israeli airstrike in Gaza.
May 5, 2004	Imad Mohammed Janajra	Hamas Senior Commander, West Bank	Shot by Israeli security forces as he approached the village of Taluza, outside Nablus.
April 17, 2004	Abdel Aziz Rantisi	Hamas Organizational Leader	IAF helicopter-fired missiles slammed into his car not far from his home in central Gaza City.
March 22, 2004	Sheik Ahmed Yassin	Hamas Organizational Leader and Founder	Israeli missile strike in Gaza.
March 16, 2004	Nidal Salfiti; Shadi Muhana	Palestine Islamic Jihad	Israeli missile strike in Gaza.
March 3, 2004	Tarad Jimali; Ibrahim Diri: Omar Hassan	Hamas Senior Members	Israeli missile strike
February 28, 2004	Mahmoud Juda; Aiyman Dahduh; Amin Dahduh	Palestine Islamic Jihad Senior Commanders	Israeli helicopter gunships killed threefugitives riding in a car in Gaza.
February 7, 2004	Aziz Mahmoud Shami	Palestine Islamic Jihad Military Wing Leader	Israeli missile strike.
December 25, 2003	Makled Hamid	Palestine Islamic Jihad Local Military Wing Commander	Israeli missile strike on a car in Gaza City.
December 25, 2003	Mustafa Sabah	Hamas Bombmaker	Mastermind of three attacks against Merkava tanks in the Gaza Strip was killed in an IAF strike in Gaza City.
September 1, 2003	Khader Houssre	Hamas	Air Force helicopters fired four missiles at a car in the Gaza Strip.
August 30, 2003	Abdullah Akel; Farid Mayet	Hamas	Air Force helicopters fired four missiles at a van in the Gaza Strip.
August 28, 2003	Hamdi Khalaq	Hamas Military Wing Member	Air Force helicopter fired a missile.
August 26, 2003	Khaled Massoud	Hamas Missile Developer	Active in the development of the Kassam Rocket, Israeli missile strike in Gaza City.
August 24, 2003	Walid el Hams; Ahmed Eshtwi; Ahmed Abu Halala; Muhammad Abu Lubda	Hamas Activists	IDF helicopter strike.
August 21, 2003	Ismail Abu Shanab	Hamas Senior Leader	Israeli airstrike.
June 12, 2003	Jihad Srour; Yasser Taha	Hamas Activists	missiles fired from an air force helicopter.
June 11, 2003	Tito Massoud; Soffil Abu Nahez	Hamas	missiles fired from an air force helicopter.
May 8, 2003	Iyad el-Bek	Hamas Aide to Military Leader	Aide to former Hamas military leader Salah Shehade. Air Force helicopters fired three missiles at a car
April 29, 2003	Nidal Salameh	Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Local Military Leader	Four missiles fired from an air force helicopter at a car in the southern Gaza Strip
April 10, 2003	Yasser Alemi	Fatah Tanzim	An undercover Border Police unit shot and killed the Israeli fugitive in Tulkarm.
April 9, 2003	Mahmoud Zatma	Palestine Islamic Jihad Senior Commander, Bomb Maker	Missile fired by an IAF Apache helicopter hit the car he was driving in Gaza City.
April 8, 2003	Said al-Arabid	Hamas Commander	Helicopter missiles struck the car in Gaza
March 8, 2003	Ibrahim Makdme	Hamas Second-in-Command of Military Wing	Israeli attack helicopters fired missiles
December 23, 2002	Shaman Hassan Subah; Mustafa Kash	Hamas	Killed in an IDF ambush near Jenin.
November 26, 2002	Alah Sabbagh; Imad Nasrti	al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade Local Leader; Hamas Local Leader	Killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Jenin refugee camp.
October 29, 2002	Assim Sawafta	Hamas Military Wing RingLeader (19)	Killed by an undercover army unit.
July 23, 2002	Nasser Asida	Hamas West Bank Commander	Shot and killed by IDF soldiers of the Kfir Brigade
July 23, 2002	Salah Shehada	Hamas Military Commander in Gaza	Israeli military aircraft rocketed his house. Unfortunately, fourteen others, including his family, were killed in the blast.
July 4, 2002	Jihad Amerin	al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade Leader in the Gaza Strip	Killed in a car blast.
June 30, 2002	Muhaned Taher; Imad Draoza	Hamas Master Bomber; Deputy Bomb Commander	Taher, known as " Engineer 4," was responsible for supplying the the bombs used in a June 2002 Jerusalem bus bombing that killed 19 and wounded 70 and in the June 2001 Tel Aviv disco attack that killed 21. Killed in a raid in Nablus by IDF naval commandos.
April 22, 2002	Marwan Zaloum; Samir Abu Rajoub	Fatah Tanzim Hebron Militia Leader; Senior Aide, Member of Force 17	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. Israeli helicopter strike.
March 14, 2002	Mutasen Hamad; Maher Balbiti	al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade Field Commanders	Hamad was considered a top bomb maker. Israeli attack helicopter fired a missile.
March 6, 2002	Abdel Rahman Ghadal	Hamas	Missile attack on his home in Gaza City.
March 5, 2002	Mohand Said Muniyer Diriya, Fawzi Hamdi Mustafa Maher, Oman Kaidan	Force 17, Tanzim	The IDF targeted the threein Ramallah.
February 5, 2002	Five Unknown	DFLP	Killed in a strike on a car carrying the terrorists.
January 25, 2002	Adli Hamdan	Hamas Head of Military Wing	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.
January 22, 2002	Ankilled Jasser Samaro, Nassim Abu Rus, Yousef Suraj, Karim Masarja	Hamas Regional Bomb Preparation Experts	IDF special operations unit killed the men who were on a list of wanted terrorists Israel submitted on to the Palestinian Authority.
January 14, 2002	Raed Mahmoud Karmi	TanzimTulkarm Commander	Killed when his car blew up. Israel had asked the PA to imprison Karmi, but Arafat refused. Terrorists under his command murdered at least six Israelis.
Nov. 23, 2001	Mahmoud Abu Hanoud, Ayman Hashaykah	Hamas Senior Commander in West Bank, Deputy to Senior Commander	IAF helicopter fired missiles at the car. Hanoud was convicted by the Palestinian Authority of leading an unauthorized military cell and sentenced to a12-year jail term. He was later released.
Nov. 12, 2001	Mohammed Hassan Reihan	Hamas Senior Leader	Killed in a gunfight with Israeli forces at his West Bank home in Tel. Reihan was wanted for the 1998 killing of two Israelis.
Nov. 1, 2001	Yasser Atsida, Fahmi Abu Aisha	Hamas Military Wing Members	Helicopter gunships attack a car in the West Bank city of Tulkarm.
October 31, 2001	Jamil Jaddala	Hamas	Killed by Israeli security forces in Hebron in a helicopter missile attack.
October 18, 2001	Atif Abayyat	Fatah Military Wing Member	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 16, 2001	Iyad al Akhras	Hamas	Killed when an explosive went off inside his house
October 15, 2001	Ahmad Marshoud	Hamas	Killed in a car bomb explosion in the West Bank town of Nablus.
October 14, 2001	Abed Rahman Hamad	Hamas Military Wing Senior Member	Shot by snipers at his home in Qalqilya.
August 27, 2001	Abu Ali Mustafa	PFLP Commander	Israeli helicopter fired a missile through the window of his Ramallah office.
August 20, 2001	Imad Abu Sneneh	Tanzim Local Commander	Shot in Hebron.
July 31, 2001	Jamal Mansour, Omar Mansour	Hamas Senior Leaders	Killed by Israeli helicopter gunships.
February 13, 2001	Massoud Ayyad	Force 17 Lieutenant Colonel	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.
December 31, 2001	Dr. Thabet Ahmad Thabet	Fatah	Killed by IDF soldiers. Thabet was a high ranking member of Fatah.
December 10, 2001	Mahmoud Mugrabi	Fatah	Killed by IDF soldiers while reportedly planting a roadside bomb near Bethlehem. Mugrabi’s name was on a list of ten reputed terrorists that the IDF had targeted for killing.
Nov. 23, 2000	Ibrahim Abdel Karim Bani	Hamas	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.
Nov. 22, 2000	Jamal Abdel Raziq	Tanzim Senior Member	Killed by IDF forces along with three other Tanzim members.
Nov. 9, 2000	Hussein Abayat	Fatah	Local leader of the intifada was killed when an Israeli helicopter gunship rocketed his car near Bethlehem.
January 6, 1996	Yehiya Ayyash	Hamas Bombmaker, Engineer	Bombmaker known as "The Engineer." A bomb is planted in the cellular phone, he is killed when it explodes in Gaza.
October 26, 1995	Fathi Shikaki	Palestine Islamic Jihad	Shikaki had been behind a January 1995 bombing near Netanya that killed 21 soldiers. Mossad agents assassinate him on a street in Sleima, Malta.
February 16, 1992	Abbas Musawi	Hezbollah Secretary-General	Two Israeli assault helicopters attack a convoy in Lebanon and use missiles to destroy the car.
April 16, 1988	Khalil El-Wazir (Abu Jihad)	PLO Number 2 Man	Commandos shoot him in his Tunis bed.
January 22, 1979	Ali Hassan Salameh	Black SeptemberOperations Chief	Coordinated the Munich Massacre; killed by a remote-control bomb in Beirut
1978	Wadie Haddad	Founder of PFLP	Responsible for multiple hijackings and planning the Japanese Red Army attack on Lod airport in 1972. A Mossad agent inside Haddad’s inner circleswitched his toothpaste for an identical tube laced with a deadly toxin that slowly killed him.
June 28, 1973	Mohammed Boudiada	PFLP Head of European Operations	Car explodes in Paris.
April 12, 1973	Zaid Muchassi	PLO	Explosion in his Athens hotel room.
April 9, 1973	Kamal Nasser; Mahmoud Yussuf Najjer; Kemal Adwan	PLO Official Spokesman; "Foreign Minister" Director of Sabotage	Involed in the Munich Massacre; murdered in their Beirut apartment
April 6, 1973	Basil al-Kubaisi	PFLP Terrorist	Involved in the Munich Massacre; gunned down on a Paris street
January 24, 1973	Hussein Al Bashr	PLO	A bomb explodes in the hotel room in Nicosia, Cyprus.
December 8, 1972	Mahmoud Hamshar	Black SeptemberField Commander	Coordinator of the Munich Massacre is killed in Paris when his telephone explodes.
October 16, 1972	Wael Zwaiter	Unknown	Cousin of Yasser Arafat, is shot dead in the lobby of his Rome apartment building.
July 25, 1972	Bassam Abou Shari	PFLP Information Officer	Package explodes in his hands.
July 8, 1972	Ghassan Kanafani	PFLP Central Command Member	Recruited the Japanese terrorists who killed 27 people and wounded another 80 in May at the Lod Airport in Israel. Booby-trapped car explodes
July 11, 1956	Mustafa Hafaz	Egypt’s commander of intelligence in Gaza	Hafaz was responsible for sending Palestinian terrorists into southern Israel. A double agent delivered a booby-trapped book

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

**Israel is accused of assassinating Iranian scientists associated with its nuclear weapons program.

^The same day, Fereydoon Abbasi survived an assassination attempt.

Sources: AFP (October 14, 2012); CNN; Jerusalem Report (November 5, 2001); Jerusalem Post; FOX News (July 31, 2010); UPI (August 6, 2012); 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; Samuel M. Katz, "Assassination," Moment, (October 2001); State Department Report on Human Rights Practices for 2000;
Dominic Sandbrook, “Poison toothpaste, prisoners hypnotised to kill: How Mossad, Israel’s secret service, has become the world leader in assassins with 800 operations in the last decade,” Daily Mail, (July 27, 2018);
David Rosenberg, “IDF eliminates terrorist behind Iranian funding of Hamas,” Arutz Sheva, (May 5, 2019);
Adam Goldman, Eric Schmitt, Farnaz Fassihi and Ronen Bergman, “Al Qaeda’s No. 2, Accused inU.S. Embassy Attacks, Was Kiled in Iran,” New York Times, (November 13, 2020);
Matthew Lee And James Laporta, “US, Israel worked together to track and kill al-Qaida No. 2,” AP, (November 15, 2020);
Seth J. Frantzman, “Timing of report on ’Israeli hit’ could aid Biden-Israel relations,” Jerusalem Post, (November 15, 2020).
“Assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists,” Wikipedia.
Einav Halabi, Elisha Ben Kimon, and Yoav Zitun, “Senior Lion’s Den operative killed in Nablus explosion,” Ynet, (October 23, 2022).
Emanuel Fabian, “Palestinian Islamic Jihad claims senior engineer assassinated by Israel in Syria,” Times of Israel, (March 19, 2023).
Abeer Salman, Nada Bashir, Tamara Qiblawi, Tara John, and AnneClaire Stapleton, “Senior Hamas leader killed in Beirut blast, heightening fears of wider regional conflict,” CNN, (January 3, 2024).
Yonah Jeremy Bob, and Tzvi Joffre, “Hamas deputy head Saleh al-Arouri killed in alleged Israeli drone strike in Beirut,” Jerusalem Post, (January 2, 2024).
Matthias Inbar, “IDF eliminates senior Hezbollah commander in targeted attack - report,” i24 News, (January 8, 2024).
Emanuel Fabian, “Hezbollah’s drone chief in southern Lebanon killed in reported Israeli strike,” Times of Israel, (January 9, 2024).
Lior Ben Ari, “Israel eliminated prominent Hezbollah missile expert, report says,” Ynet, (February 22, 2024).
Eyad Kourdi and Ben Wedeman, “Israeli airstrike kills businessman sanctioned by US for ISIS links, Syrian media reports,” CNN, (July 15, 2024).

Israel Counter-Terrorism: Targeted Killings of Terrorists

(1956 - Present)