Who has Israel assassinated since the Gaza war started?

Strikes on Gaza, Lebanon and Syria have killed several high-ranking commanders from the Iran-backed Axis of Resistance

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Two strikes on militia leaders in Beirut and Tehran have sent tensions in the Middle East soaring, in what appear to be the latest in a long list of assassinations carried out by Israel.

Hamas’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in Iran’s capital early on Wednesday. Israel has not commented on the killing in line with its long-standing policy, but is widely suspected to be behind the strike.

Israel did, however, claim responsibility for a strike on southern Beirut on Tuesday night, which it said was aimed at a Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr in retaliation for a deadly rocket attack on the occupied Golan Heights over the weekend. Hezbollah confirmed Mr Shukr's death on Wednesday.

The two attacks are part of Israel's long-standing practice of assassinating militia commanders from the Iran-backed Axis of Resistance, which is spearheaded by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and includes Hezbollah and Hamas.

Assassinations have surged since the outbreak of Israel's war on Gaza, following the surprise Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7.

Israel has sought to eliminate Hamas as an organisation, while also targeting Hezbollah and IRGC members in Lebanon and Syria as it fights on multiple fronts.

In Gaza, many of these assassination attempts have also killed civilians nearby, with Israel apparently justifying the strikes with a broad interpretation of the laws of war, so-called proportionality.

Here is a list of the main militia commanders and personnel killed by Israel since October.

Fouad Shukr

Israel targeted Fouad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander, in an attack on southern Beirut late on Tuesday.

Israel has accused Mr Shukr of being behind a rocket attack on Majdal Shams, in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, that killed 12 children.

Mr Shukr, also known as Hajj Mohsin, served as right-hand man to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, said Israel’s military spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari during a briefing on Tuesday night.

He was accused of playing a key role in the movement of weapons for Hezbollah through Syria.

Hezbollah confirmed his death later on Wednesday after his body was found in the rubble of the building in which he was staying.

A statement by Hezbollah confirming the death of Fouad Shukr. Photo: Hezbollah

Saleh Al Arouri and Wissam Tawil

The strike on Fouad Shukr followed several other Israeli assassinations carried out on Lebanese territory.

In early January, nearly three months after the Gaza war began, Hamas deputy leader Saleh Al Arouri was killed in a strike in Beirut's southern suburbs blamed on Israel.

The 57-year-old helped establish the group's military wing, the Ezzedine Al Qassam Brigades, and played a key role building Hamas's military presence in the occupied West Bank before he transferred to Lebanon.

The strike shocked many as it was the first major Israeli attack on Beirut since the outbreak of the Gaza war, and took place during truce talks.

However, Israel had been targeting Hezbollah members since October, especially in southern Lebanon.

The most prominent Hezbollah member to be killed in the south is Wissam Tawil, a commander of Hezbollah's elite Radwan forces.

The 48-year-old was also killed in early January and allegedly played a leading role in directing the group’s operations in the south.

TGhe funeral for Saleh Arouri, one of the top Hamas commanders, and two other Hamas members, who were killed in an apparent Israeli attack in Beirut in January. AP

IRGC commanders hit in Syria

Iranian and Iran-linked militia members have also been targeted in Syria.

Seyed Razi Mousavi, a longtime senior adviser in the Iranian paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria, was killed in a drone attack outside Damascus in late December.

While this provoked fury in Tehran, Israel jumped up the escalation ladder four months later, bringing the two countries to the brink of war.

In early April, Iran said two of its generals had been killed in an Israeli strike on its consulate in Syria.

The strike killed Gen Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who led the elite Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria until 2016, according to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

It also killed Zahedi’s deputy, Gen Mohammad Hadi Hajriahimi, and five other officers.

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  Emergency personnel extinguish a fire at the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus after it was hit by an Israeli air strike. AFP

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  Emergency and security workers comb the rubble following the attack, which killed at least 11 people including senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders, in the Syrian capital. AFP

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  Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad (centre) visits the embassy compound, in the central Mezzeh area of the city. AFP

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  Members of the Syrian Red Crescent work at the scene in Damascus. The head of the Quds Force in Lebanon was among the dead. Reuters

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  A destroyed vehicle is taken away from the Iranian embassy compound in the Syrian capital. Reuters

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  Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi warned that the attack would 'not go unpunished'. AFP

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  The strike is the most significant attack against an Iranian target since the Gaza war began. EPA

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  A damaged vehicle is doused following the air strike in Damascus. EPA

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  An Israeli army spokesman claimed the embassy compound was a military site 'disguised' as a diplomatic site. Reuters

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  Brig Gen Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, was killed. AFP

The shocking attack, which levelled an entire building in the centre of the Syrian capital, prompted an unprecedented retaliation from Iran, which launched 300 missiles and drones against Israel.

Israel has also targeted Hezbollah members operating out of Syria.

A drone strike near Damascus in early July killed Yasser Kranbish, a former bodyguard of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who sources said had since become a central operative in the Lebanese group's weapons operations.

Hamas in Gaza

Israel's leaders have vowed to wipe out Hamas, including all of its leadership, in retaliation for the October 7 attacks.

After the killing of Mr Haniyeh, the group's overall leader, Yahya Sinwar, remains Israel's top target.

Mr Sinwar has rarely been seen in public and is thought to be hiding in tunnels under Gaza.

Israel has also repeatedly targeted another Hamas senior leader, Mohammed Deif, who heads the group's military wing, the Ezzedine Al Qassam Brigades.

Mr Deif, whose real name is Mohammed Diab Al Masri, has been the target of at least seven Israeli assassination attempts.

Most recently, Israel carried out a strike on the Al Mawasi camp in southern Gaza, which is a designated so-called safe zone for civilians.

At least 90 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the attack. Israel says it was targeting Mr Deif. Hamas says he survived the attack and accused Israel of attempting to “justify the horrifying massacre”.

Israel also claimed the strike killed Rafaa Salameh, the commander of Hamas's Khan Younis brigade.