Israel’s Ongoing Campaign of Targeted Attacks Against Regional Militant Leaders: A Look at Key Figures Killed in the Past Two Years

In a recent incident, an Israeli operation in Doha aimed at Hamas’ political leadership failed to claim any senior officials, according to Hamas statements. This attack is the latest in a series of targeted operations against Israel’s prime adversaries since the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel.

Over the past two years, Israel has been known for conducting numerous targeted strikes across the Middle East – in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Yemen, and now Qatar – against key figures of militant groups and even Iranian officials themselves. These operations have had varying effects on hostilities and wars in different regions.

In Lebanon and Iran, these killings contributed to a cessation of hostilities, albeit temporarily. In Gaza and Yemen, they proved ineffective at ending the ongoing conflicts.

Here are some prominent figures that Israel has killed in the region over the past two years:

1. Mahmoud Arouri, a senior Hamas leader based abroad, was the first to be targeted after the October 7, 2023 attack. Having served many years in Israeli prison before his release in a 2011 prisoner swap with Israel, Arouri coordinated Hamas attacks on Israel from the West Bank. He was killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon in January 2024.

2. His successor, Zaher Jabareen, was targeted in the recent Doha operation.

3. Mohammed Deif, the top commander of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, was an elusive figure and had long been on Israel’s kill list. A heavy Israeli strike on a tent camp for displaced persons in Gaza killed him in July 2024. Approximately 90 other Palestinians are believed to have been killed in that strike, according to Gaza health officials. Hamas denied Deif’s death for months and acknowledged it only this year.

4. Israel also killed Deif’s successor, Mohammed Sinwar, in May of this year, in a strike on a tunnel under a hospital in Khan Younis. His role is now held by Izzedin al-Haddad, who continues to command Hamas forces fighting Israeli troops in Gaza.

5. Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’ political wing since 2017, was killed in an explosion in Tehran in July 2024 while attending the Iranian president’s inauguration. Haniyeh was considered to be among Hamas’ more moderate leaders and was seen as more open to negotiating a ceasefire deal with Israel.

6. Yahya Sinwar, who had served as the head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip – a more hardline leader, whom Israel accused of masterminding the October 7 attack – succeeded Haniyeh. Sinwar was killed by Israeli troops in October 2024.

7. In September 2024, Hassan Nasrallah, the longtime leader of the Iran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah, was killed by an Israeli strike on a secret underground Hezbollah facility in Beirut. His death led to a ceasefire and an end to heavy cross-border fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.

8. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a top Iranian general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was among senior Iranian military officials killed in an airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus in April 2024. This attack led to a full-blown war between Israel and Iran this year.

These targeted operations continue to have far-reaching effects across the Middle East, with potential for future conflicts looming on the horizon.