This combination of photos shows Hezbollah commanders killed in Israeli strikes in recent months: Ibrahim Kobeissi, Ibrahim Aqil, Fouad Chokor, Mohammad Nasser, Wissam Tawil, and Sami Abdallah. (AFP PHOTO / Hezbollah press office)
Israel killed a top Hezbollah
commander in an airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs on
Friday, the Israeli military and security sources in Lebanon
said, escalating a year-long conflict between Israel and the
Iran-backed group.
It marks the third major targeted assassination in Beirut’s southern suburbs since the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel begun on October 8.
Here is a list of some operations against Hezbollah and Hamas leaders and commanders blamed on Israel.
Hezbollah
Mohammad Srour
The head of Hezbollah’s drone unit, Mohammad Srour, was killed in an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Thursday, confirmed the party in a statement. "With great pride and honor, the Islamic Resistance announces the martyrdom of Commander Mujahid Mohammad Hussein Srour," Hezbollah declared.
Mohammad Srour was born in Aita al-Shaab, in southern Lebanon, on July 8, 1973, according to the statement. He joined "the ranks of the Islamic Resistance in 1986." Over the years, he "climbed the ranks of the resistance’s organizational structure, receiving numerous advanced leadership trainings."
Mohammad Srour, head of Hezbollah’s drone unit. Photo released by the Hezbollah.
The statement added that "Mohammad Srour participated in several Islamic Resistance operations against the Israeli occupation." He also "played a crucial role in repelling attacks by Takfiri groups along Lebanon's eastern borders, as well as in various Syrian province
A source close to the Shiite party told AFP that Mohammad Srour, a mathematician, was among the high-ranking commanders sent to Yemen to train the Houthi rebels, who are also supported by Iran.
Ibrahim Qobeissy
Ibrahim Qobeissy was killed on September 24 in an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut. According to the Israeli military, Qobeissy, who commanded several units, including a precision-guided missiles unit, was targeted along with other commanders of Hezbollah's missile and rocket force, AFP reports. "Qobeissy was an important source of knowledge in the field of missiles and maintained close ties with senior Hezbollah military officials," according to the Israeli military.
Ibrahim Qobeissy had joined the movement in 1982 and held several military positions, including head of the Badr unit, responsible for one of Hezbollah's three operational zones in southern Lebanon, according to the group.
Ibrahim Aqil
An Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs killed Hezbollah's operations commander Ibrahim Aqil, who serves on the group's top military body, on Sept. 20.
Rewards for Justice program poster regarding Ibrahim Aqil. (Credit: RFJ)
Aqil, who has also used the aliases Tahsin and Abdelqader, is a member of Hezbollah's top military body, the Jihad Council.
The United States accuses him of a role in the Beirut truck bombings that struck the American embassy in April 1983, which killed 63 people, and a U.S. Marine barracks six months later that killed 241 people.
Fouad Shukur
An Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Lebanon's capital on July 30 killed Hezbollah's top commander Fouad Shukur, identified by the Israeli military as the right-hand man of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
The "martyr" poster for Hezbollah Commander Fouad Ali Shukur. (Credit: Hezbollah Media Office)
Shukur was one of Hezbollah's leading military figures since it was established by Iran's Revolutionary Guards more than four decades ago.
Israel killed him in response to the strike on the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Israel-controlled Golan Heights which killed 12 children. It was attributed to Hezbollah, though the group denies responsibility.
The United States imposed sanctions on Shukur in 2015 and accused him of playing a central role in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, which killed 241 U.S. military personnel.
Mohammed Nasser
Mohammed Nasser was killed in an Israeli airstrike on July 3. Israel claimed responsibility, saying he headed a unit responsible for firing from southwestern Lebanon at Israel.
Nasser, a senior commander in Hezbollah, was responsible for a section of Hezbollah's operations at the frontier, according to senior security sources in Lebanon.
Taleb Abdallah
Senior Hezbollah field commander Abdallah was killed on June 12 in a strike claimed by Israel, which said it had hit a command and control centre in southern Lebanon.
Security sources in Lebanon said he was Hezbollah's commander for the central region of the southern border strip and was of the same rank as Nasser.
His killing prompted the group to fire a massive barrage of rockets across the border at Israel.
Hamas
Mohammed Deif
Israel's military said Deif was killed after fighter jets struck in the area of Khan Younis in Gaza on July 13 after an intelligence assessment. The elusive Deif had survived seven Israel assassination attempts.
Deif is believed to have been one of the masterminds of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, which triggered the Gaza war. Hamas has not confirmed his death.
Ismail Haniyeh
Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the early hours of July 31 in Iran, the Palestinian militant group said.
Haniyeh was killed by a missile that hit him directly in a state guesthouse where he was staying. Israel has not claimed responsibility.
Saleh al-Arouri
An Israeli drone strike on Beirut's southern suburbs of Dahiyeh killed Deputy Hamas chief Saleh al-Arouri on Jan. 2, 2024.
Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri conducting a telephone interview in his Beirut office. Photo published by the Islamist movement on Jan. 3, 2024, the day after al-Arouri was killed in an Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut. (Credit: AFP)
Arouri was also the founder of Hamas' military wing, the Qassam Brigades.
commander in an airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs on
Friday, the Israeli military and security sources in Lebanon
said, escalating a year-long conflict between Israel and the
Iran-backed group.It marks the third major targeted assassination in Beirut’s southern suburbs since the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel begun on October...