Hamas top leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, Iran on Wednesday. The Hamas leader was assassinated in an overnight strike which has been blamed on Israel. Tel Aviv, however, has neither confirmed nor denied the accusations against it. In view of this, here is a look at the various assassinations and targeted killings linked to Israel.
Hamas top leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, Iran on Wednesday. The Hamas leader was assassinated in an overnight strike which targeted his house. Iran has condemned the "cowardly act" and blamed Israel for carrying out his assassination.
Despite Iran and other countries holding Israel responsible for the assassination, Tel Aviv has neither confirmed nor denied the accusations against it.
If Israel did assassinate Haniyeh, it would not be it's first targeted killing. A day before Haniyeh, Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr was killed in a strike in south Beirut. Here's a look back at the previous targeted killings associated with Israel.
Hamas’ military commander Mohammed Deif was targeted in a massive strike in Gaza in July 2024. After the attack, it was not known if Deif has been killed or not. However, Israel confirmed on August 1 that Deif was eliminated in the strike .
Saleh Arouri was a top Hamas official in exile in Lebanon. He was killed in an Israeli drone strike in January 2024.
Seyed Razi Mousavi was a longtime advisor of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Syria was killed in the December 2023 drone attack near Damascus.
Baha Abu el-Atta was a senior Islamic Jihad commander in the Gaza Strip. el-Atta was killed in an Israeli strike in 2019, along with this wife.
Ahmad Jabari was the head of Hamas' armed win. In 2012, an Israeli airstrike targeted his car and killed him, Jabari's death also sparked the eight-day war between Israel and Hamas.
Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was a top Hamas operative who was killed in Dubai in an operation linked to Israeli's spy agency - Mossad. While Mossad has never acknowledged its role in the killed, the 26 assassins linked to al-Mabhouh's death were identified as Mossad agents.
In 1997, Mossad agents tried to kill Khaled Mashal in Jordan. Israeli agents tried to poison the Hamas leader however, they were captured. The mission threatened Israel's ties with Jordan and was called off. Following Haniyeh's death, Mashal has been named as the chief of Hamas once again.
Since 2007, Mossad has carried out or been accused of carrying out the assassinatios of at least five Iranian nuclear scientists. These include Ardeshir Hosseinpour, Masoud Ali-Mohammadi, Majid Shahriari, Darioush Rezaeinejad, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, and Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.
