Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander in an airstrike, further escalating the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran
Israel escalated the year-long battle between Israel and the Iran-backed militia on Friday by killing a prominent Hezbollah leader in an attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs, according to Israeli military and security officials in Lebanon.
Here is a list of several operations that Israel is accused of carrying out against leaders and commanders of Hamas and Hezbollah.
HEZBOLLAH:
Ibrahim Aqil
Ibrahim Aqil, the operations commander of Hezbollah and a member of the organization’s elite military council, was killed on September 20 by an Israeli attack in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Aqil is a member of the Jihad Council, the highest military council of Hezbollah. He has also gone by the names Tahsin and Abdelqader.
He is accused by the US of being involved in the truck bombs in Beirut that murdered 63 people when they hit the American embassy in April 1983 and 241 people when they bombed the US Marine barracks six months later.
FUAD SHUKR
The Israeli military named Fuad Shukr, the right-hand man of Hezbollah president Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, as the victim of an Israeli attack on July 30 in the southern suburbs of the capital of Lebanon.
Since the formation of Hezbollah by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards over forty years ago, Shukr has been one of the organization’s most important military leaders.
In 2015, the United States placed sanctions on Shukr, alleging that he was a key participant in the 1983 bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut, which resulted in the deaths of 241 US military members.
MOHAMMED NASSER
On July 3, Mohammed Nasser was murdered by an Israeli airstrike. Israel asserted accountability, claiming he oversaw a team that fired missiles against Israel from southwest Lebanon.
top security sources in Lebanon claim that Nasser, a top Hezbollah leader, oversaw a portion of the organization’s activities along the border.
TALEB ABDALLAH
On June 12, senior Hezbollah field commander Abdallah was killed in an attack that Israel said was directed at a southern Lebanon command and control center.
He was Hezbollah’s commander over the center area of the southern border strip, according to security sources in Lebanon, and he had the same rank as Nasser.
The gang launched a large rocket bombardment into Israel across the border after his killing.
HAMAS
MUHAMMED DEIF
According to Israel’s military, after an intelligence assessment, fighter planes attacked in the vicinity of Khan Younis in Gaza on July 13, killing Deif. The elusive Deif has escaped seven attempts against his life in Israel.
Deif is thought to have played a key role in the planning of the Oct. 7 raid by Hamas on southern Israel, which started the Gaza War. His death has not been verified by Hamas.
ISMAIL HANIYEH
According to the Palestinian terrorist organization, Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran early on July 31.
A missile that struck Haniyeh squarely in the state guesthouse where he was staying killed him. Israel has not assumed accountability.
SALEH AL-AROURI
in January 2, 2024, deputy Hamas chairman Saleh al-Arouri was murdered by an Israeli drone attack in the Dahiyeh district of Beirut.
In addition, Arouri founded the Qassam Brigades, the military branch of Hamas.
