List of Hezbollah leaders assassinated by Israel since October 7

After the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip launched Operation Flood of Al-Aqsa on the Gaza envelope settlements on October 7, 2023, the Lebanese Hezbollah in turn launched continuous bombing operations from southern Lebanon towards the northern front of Israel, in what it called a support front for Gaza.

Israel has launched raids on Lebanese territory on several occasions, some of which targeted what the Israeli army said were military targets belonging to Hezbollah, and some of which targeted leaders of the party, most of whom were assassinated in the bombing of the southern suburbs of Beirut.

The following are the most prominent Hezbollah leaders assassinated by Israel after the Al-Aqsa Intifada, which was followed by an Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip that has been ongoing for about a year.

Wassim Hassan Tawil (Hajj Jawad)

Wissam Hassan Tawil (nicknamed Hajj Jawad) was the first commander assassinated by Israel since the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada. He was born in 1970 in the Lebanese city of Tyre, and joined Hezbollah in his early youth.

He held several leadership positions in the party, as he supervised the foreign operations file and the military manufacturing file, and was a member of the party’s Central Shura Council.

On January 8, 2024, Israeli drones targeted Wissam Tawil’s car in the town of Khirbet Selem in southern Lebanon, located about 11 kilometers from the border with Israel, killing him and wounding another person who was with him.

Sami Talib Abdullah (Hajj Abu Talib)

Sami Taleb Abdullah, nicknamed Hajj Abu Taleb, was born in 1969 in the town of Adchit in southern Lebanon. He is the commander of the Victory Unit, responsible for the eastern sector, and has supervised many military operations against Israel.

Sami Taleb was killed in June 2024, along with resistance fighters Muhammad Hussein Sabra and Ali Salim Soufan, in an Israeli raid that targeted the town of Joya in southern Lebanon.

Mohammed Nasser

A military leader in the Lebanese Hezbollah, nicknamed “Hajj Abu Nimah.” He was born in 1965 in the town of Hadatha in southern Lebanon. He was one of the most prominent leaders of the Aziz Unit (in the Radwan Force), which was responsible for the western sector.

He joined Hezbollah in 1986 and rose through the ranks. He began his military career by participating in several operations against the Israeli army during its occupation of southern Lebanon, most notably the July 2006 war. He also participated with Hezbollah fighters in supporting the Syrian regime against the armed opposition from 2011 to 2016 after the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in March 2011.

He took charge of Aziz's unit after the killing of commander Hassan Mohammed al-Hajj in Syria in 2015, and supervised many military operations against Israel during the period of supporting Operation Flood of Al-Aqsa, during which he was injured.

He participated in directing military operations targeting Israel through drones, missiles, or complex operations. In July 2024, Hezbollah announced his death by an Israeli drone that targeted his car in the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon.

Fouad Shukr

Fouad Shukr, also known as "Hajj Mohsen", was born in the town of Nabi Sheet in the Baalbek region in eastern Lebanon on April 25, 1961. He is a military leader in Hezbollah and one of its founding generation.

Fouad Shukr participated in the Battle of Khaldeh against the occupation during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, and managed the process of sending Hezbollah soldiers to Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995.

He was the first central military official of Hezbollah at the beginning of its founding in the 1980s, and served as a member of the party's central Shura Council in addition to membership in the Jihad Council, the highest military body.

Fouad Shukr was a senior advisor to Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, and the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth says he was his "adviser for planning and directing operations in wartime." It adds that he has been the actual supervisor of the party's confrontation with Israel since Operation Flood of Al-Aqsa.

Fouad Shukr helped the party's fighters and the Syrian army in the military campaign against opposition forces in Syria, after the revolution that called for the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad in 2011.

Reports also say that "Hajj Mohsen" was responsible for Hezbollah's precision missile program, and was wanted by the US administration, which classified him in 2019 on the list of those accused of terrorism.

In 2017, Washington offered $5 million to find him. Then-Vice President Mike Pence described him as “one of the masterminds behind the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks” in Beirut.

Pence is referring to the bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut on October 23, 1983, which killed 241 American soldiers and injured 128 others.

On July 30, 2024, the Israeli army announced that it had assassinated Fouad Shukr in a raid carried out by its aircraft on a building in Haret Hreik in the southern suburbs of Beirut. The party confirmed his assassination and held a memorial service for him two days later.

Ibrahim Aqil

Ibrahim Aqil - also known as Ibrahim Tahseen - is a military leader in Hezbollah. He was born in the town of Bednayel in the Baalbek district on December 24, 1962.

He joined Hezbollah in the 1980s, and was part of the unit responsible for the bombing of the US embassy in Beirut in April 1983, which killed 63 people, including 52 Lebanese and American employees. He also participated in the attack on the Marine barracks in October of the same year.

Ibrahim Aqil was a member of Hezbollah's Jihad Council, and media sources say that he also had significant military activity in Syria after Hezbollah entered the armed conflict between the Syrian regime and the opposition.

On September 20, 2024, Israel announced the assassination of Ibrahim Aqil with two missiles fired by an F-35 aircraft at an apartment in the Jamous area in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Ahmed Wahbi

Ahmed Wahbi was born in 1964 in the town of Adloun in southern Lebanon. He joined Hezbollah since its founding, and participated in a number of military operations in the south of the country, before leading the training of the Radwan Force.

He participated in a number of military operations in southern Lebanon against the Israeli occupation, which captured him in 1984. He was one of the field commanders in the "Ansariya Ambush" operation that targeted the Israeli naval commando unit "Shayetet 13" in the town of Ansariya in 1997, in which about 12 Israeli soldiers were killed.

During his career with Hezbollah, he held a number of leadership responsibilities in the Central Training Unit until 2007, and played a pivotal role in developing the human capabilities of the resistance.

He was entrusted with the responsibility of training the Radwan Force from 2012 until 2024, and in that year he led the force's military operations on the Lebanese support front for the "Al-Aqsa Flood" battle. Following the killing of Wissam Tawil, he assumed responsibility for the Central Training Unit until his assassination.

On September 20, 2024, Hezbollah announced the killing of Ahmed Wahbi, Ibrahim Aqil, and 14 other fighters in an Israeli raid on an apartment in the Jamous area of the southern suburb.

Ibrahim Qubaisi

Ibrahim Qabisi, nicknamed “Hajj Abu Musa,” was born in the town of Zebdine in southern Lebanon on October 10, 1962.

He joined Hezbollah since its inception in 1982, and rose through the ranks until he assumed responsibility for the Badr military unit north of the Litani River, and led a number of missile formations in the party.

Qabisi supervised and planned a number of resistance operations against Israel, the most prominent of which was when he assumed responsibility for the military wing, the “Regional Axis,” between 1998 and 2000.

At the beginning of the 21st century, he assumed responsibility for the "Badr Military Unit" north of the Litani River until 2018. The Israeli army said at the time of announcing his assassination that he was "the commander of Hezbollah's missile and rocket system."

On September 24, 2024, Israel targeted Qabisi in an airstrike on the Ghobeiry area in the southern suburbs. Hezbollah confirmed his death and mourned him in a statement.

Mohammed Hussein Sorour

Muhammad Hussein Surur, who bore the title of Hajj Abu Saleh, was born on July 8, 1973 in the town of Aita al-Shaab in southern Lebanon. He graduated from the Lebanese University with a degree in mathematics.

He joined Hezbollah in the mid-1980s, received many training courses in military action and military leadership methods, and participated in many Lebanese resistance operations against Israel.

The Israeli army said in a statement after his assassination that he "promoted, directed and led the implementation of air plans with drones, cruise missiles and unmanned aircraft" that targeted Israel's northern front.

The Israeli statement added that Sarour "is one of the pioneers of drone production projects in Lebanon," and that he "established sites for producing suicide drones and drones tasked with gathering information."

For its part, Hezbollah said - in its obituary for Muhammad Hussein Surur - that he was one of the "key officers" in the military operations that the party has been fighting in Syria since 2011 with the regime against the Syrian revolution in various provinces.

He added that he led the military operations of Hezbollah's air force on the Lebanese support front since the beginning of the Battle of Tufan al-Aqsa.

For its part, Saudi media said that Surur provided military support and training to the Houthi group in Yemen, and contributed to building its military strength, and accused him of involvement in preparing some of the attacks launched by the group on Saudi territory.

On September 26, 2024, the Israeli army assassinated Muhammad Hussein Surur in a raid carried out by an F-35 aircraft that fired 3 missiles at a residential building in the Al-Qaim neighborhood in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Lebanese media reported that the building in which the Hezbollah commander was assassinated is 10 stories high, and is located near Al-Qaim Mosque and Al-Qadis School at the intersection of Al-Ruwais neighborhood.

Hassan Nasrallah

The group announced Saturday the death of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, confirming the Israeli military's claim that it had killed him in an airstrike on Beirut the previous day.

His death is a major blow to Hezbollah, which has been struggling under an escalating campaign of Israeli attacks. It is also a major blow to Iran, given the key role it played in the regional “axis of resistance” backed by Tehran.

Nasrallah became Hezbollah's secretary-general in 1992 when he was just 35, becoming the well-known figurehead of the group that was once a shadowy entity founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982 to fight Israeli occupation forces.

Source: Al Jazeera + Agencies + Websites