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Israel Counter-Terrorism: Targeted Killings of Terrorists

(1956 - Present)

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 266 people have died in targeted killings.

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

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 Islamic Jihad Senior commander.
May 11, 2023 Ali Ghassan Ghali, Ahmad Abu Deka Islamic Jihad Commander of PIJ rocket units and coordinator of attacks.
May 9, 2023

Jihad Ghannam,  Khalil Al-Bahtini, and Tareq  Izzeldeen

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 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 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. 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 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

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; Islamic Jihad

Senior Operatives

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

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

Islamic Jihad Operative

Involved 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

Islamic Jihad

According to the IDF the cell was responsible for firing rockets into Israel.

January 11, 2011

Mohammed Najar

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

Islamic Jihad

Fired Qassam rockets at Sderot earlier in the day, wounding three people.

June 1, 2007

Fawzi Abu Mustafa

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

Islamic Jihad

IAF airstrike in Jenin

July 2, 2006

Ismail al-Masri

Hamas

IAF airstrike

June 13, 2006

Hamoud Wadiya;
Shawki Sayklia.

Islamic Jihad Senior Operatives

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

Islamic Jihad

IAF airstrike

March 6, 2006

Munir Mahmed Sukhar;
Iyad Abu Shalouf.

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

Islamic Jihad

“Rocket engineer,” IAF airstrike

January 2, 2006

Sayid Abu-Gadian

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

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

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;
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; 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

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

Islamic Jihad Senior Commanders

Israeli helicopter gunships killed threefugitives riding in a car in Gaza.

February 7, 2004

Aziz Mahmoud Shami

Islamic Jihad Military Wing Leader

Israeli missile strike.

December 25, 2003

Makled Hamid

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

Islamic Jihad Senior Commander, Bomb Maker (30)

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

Islamic Jihad Chief

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).