In an effort to end the fundamentalist movement once and for all, Israeli forces have hunted down and killed at least 10 political leaders and top Hamas leaders in the last six months of Israel’s conflict with Hamas.
Within days of Hamas ‘ deadly massacre on October 7, 2023, Israel Defense Forces ( IDF) relied on its intelligence services to find terrorist leaders hiding out in neighboring hostile nations like Lebanon.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant vowed, in the midst of the worst criminal assault in Israel’s story, to “wipe this issue called Hamas, ISIS- Gaza, off the face of the earth”.
Six months have passed since the start of the dangerous fight on Sunday. In that time, more than 31, 000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Hamas- managed Health Ministry. On the Jewish area, 600 Israeli military have been killed and more than 3, 100 wounded, based on the latest figures released by the defense.
And in Hamas ‘ wonder attack that triggered the conflict, 1, 200 individuals, generally Israeli citizens, were slaughtered and 240 people were taken prisoner.
Hamas ‘ best head, Ismail Haniyeh, and his colleagues — Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, Khaled Meshaal and Mahmoud Zahar — remain at huge to this day. However, another high-value criminal targets have had a less favorable fate. What we are aware of is what follows:
Murad Abu Murad
Murad Abu Murad, 45, the mind of Hamas ‘ air power, was killed in an Jewish attack on Gaza City on Oct. 13. Murad, according to the Jewish defense,” took a significant part in directing terrorists during the murder” on October 7.
Ali Qadhi
In a drone attack on October 14, Ali Qadhi, a chief in the Nukhba special forces unit that the IDF claimed led one of the attack against southern Israeli cities, was killed.
Qadhi was detained by Israel in 2005 for the abduction and murder of Jewish business Sasson Nuriel, who was given a life sentence. However, he had been detained as part of the slave trade that led to the release of Israeli man Gilad Shalit.
Billal Al Kedra
On October 14, an attack hit the Gaza Strip, bringing down Billal Al Kedra, a captain of the wealthy southern Khan Yunis Nukhba causes. The IDF claimed at the time that Al Kedra, 37, was responsible for the killing of dozens of Jewish citizens in Kibbutz Nirim.
Osama Mazini
Osama Mazini, 57, a previous senior Palestinian president and Hamas ‘ one- time main hostage negotiator, was killed in an attack on Oct. 16, with the Israeli air pressure claiming that he “directed criminal actions against Israel”.
In his capacity as a hostage negotiator, Mazini was in charge of handling the case of Gilad Shalit during the soldier’s five years of captivity.
Ayman Nofal
Ayman Nofal, 49, a senior commander in Hamas ‘ military wing known as the Al- Qassam Brigades, was killed in an airstrike targeting the Bureij refugee camp on Oct. 17.
Hailed by Hamas as a “martyr”, Nofal was in charge of the group’s military activities in the central Gaza Strip. Nofal was referred to as “one of the most dominant figures in the terrorist organization” by the IDF and is said to have played a significant role in the planning of Gilad Shalit’s murder in June 2006.
Ibrahim Biari
IDF fighter jets shot and killed Ibrahim Biari, the commander of Hamas ‘ Central Jabaliya Battalion operating out of the Jabaliya refugee camp in Gaza, on October 31. Biari, according to the Israeli military, is to blame for ordering some of the terrorist units to kill Israelis on October 7.
Biari is also alleged to be responsible for the 2004 terrorist attack in the Port of Ashdod, which resulted in the deaths of 13 innocent people.
Ahmed Ghandour
Ahmed Ghandour, the leader of Hamas ‘ Northern Brigade for at least 18 years, was killed on November 14 in an Israeli airstrike that targeted an underground tunnel in Gaza.
Ghandour was a member of the General Military Council of the Al Qassam Brigades, and he was reportedly a close friend of Muhammad Deif, the leader of Hamas ‘ military. In 2017, he was labeled a” Specially Designated Global Terrorist” by the US.
Saleh Al Arouri
Saleh Al Arouri, a deputy Hamas leader and a founding commander of its military wing, Al Qassam Brigades, died in a Jan. 2 IDF drone strike in his office in Beirut, Lebanon, where he was living at the time.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Arouri’s demise, referring to him as Hamas ‘ “number four”.
” We have already wiped out Hamas’ number four.” Three, two, and one are on the way”, he said. ” They are all dead men. We will reach them all”, he said.
Arouri was regarded as a key figure in the Hamas movement, leading its operations from exile in Syria, Turkey, Qatar, and finally Lebanon after spending a lot of time imprisoned in Israeli custody.
Marwan Issa
Marwan Issa, 59, the deputy commander of Hamas ‘ military wing, was killed on March 10 in an Israeli airstrike that left five people dead in the Al-Nusseirat camp.
Issa is the highest-ranking Hamas official Israel has ever had to remove since the start of the conflict. Along with Mohammed Deif and Yahya Sinwar, who are alleged to have orchestrated the rampage on October 7, he was at the top of the IDF’s most-wanted list.
Issa had been the target of several previous IDF assassination attempts, which saw his sprawling vacation home in Gaza raided by soldiers and his home hit three times. He was known as the” Shadow Man” for his penchant to stay out of the spotlight.
Hadi Mustafa
A drone strike struck Hadi Mustafa while seated in a car outside the southern Lebanon city of Tyr on March 13th, killing him as a” significant operative” in Hamas ‘ unit responsible for international terrorist activities targeting Israelis and Jews.
Mustafa, who hailed from the Rashidieh refugee camp, had been linked to Saleh Al Arouri, Hamas ‘ deputy leader outside of Gaza who was taken out in January.
