A look at Middle East figures killed by Israel in recent years
Iran did not make any comments about Khamenei after this statement.
86-year-old Khamenei’s compound was among the first targets of the attack coordinated by the USA and Israel. Iran’s network of proxies, military assets and regional influence in the region have weakened over the past two years, including last year’s 12-day war with Israel.
Also read: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei killed in major attack by US and Israel, Trump says
From Gaza to Lebanon to Iran, Israel has killed Iranian military leaders as well as Hamas, Hezbollah, and Houthi leaders in Yemen. Here are some of them:
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Khamenei has tried to prevent the attacks as the United States has increased its military presence in the region in recent weeks to pressure Tehran over its nuclear program. He allowed Iran to enter negotiations with the United States, but Saturday’s attacks came two days after the last talks.
Iranian officials did not mention his status on Saturday. Meanwhile, Israel announced that it killed the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and the defense minister.
Khamenei came to power in 1989 and took over from Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, leader of the Islamic Revolution. In addition to pressure on Iran’s nuclear program and its armed proxies, Khamenei has faced serious economic woes and discontent that led to nationwide protests weeks ago. He responded with the bloodiest repression against his own rule.
Saleh Arouri, Hamas’ political deputy chief and one of the founders of the group’s military wing, was killed in a drone strike in the southern suburb of Beirut on January 2, 2024. Arouri, who is accused of planning attacks against Israel in the West Bank, had been in Israel’s sights for years, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had threatened to kill him before Hamas carried out the October 7 attack.
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Mohammed Deif On July 13, 2024, Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas’s military wing, was killed in an Israeli air strike on a compound on the outskirts of Khan Younis in the south of Gaza. More than 90 people also died, including displaced civilians living in nearby tents. Deif was believed to be one of the planners of the October 7 attack and one of the founders of Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades. He led suicide bombing campaigns against Israeli civilians and built a formidable rocket arsenal used to attack Israel. He was at the top of Israel’s most wanted list for years.
Fouad Shukur On July 30, 2024, Hezbollah’s top military commander, Fouad Shukur, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the southern suburb of Beirut. Secret Shukur was in charge of Hezbollah’s forces in southern Lebanon and was a senior official in the missile program. Şükür, a member of the Jihad Council, Hezbollah’s highest military body, was accused by the United States of planning and carrying out the truck bombing of a Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, which killed 241 American soldiers. He was the first senior Hezbollah leader to be killed.
Ismail Haniyeh On July 31, 2024, just hours after the attack in which Shukur was killed, Hamas’ senior political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in a pre-dawn attack in the Iranian capital Tehran. Israel had vowed to kill 62-year-old Haniye and other Hamas leaders following the October 7 attack. The strike came just after Haniyeh attended the inauguration of Iran’s new president.
Hassan Nasrallah Israeli airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut killed Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s long-time leader and one of its founders, on September 27, 2024. Nasrallah, 64, a clever strategist, has turned Hezbollah into Israel’s arch-enemy by forging alliances with Shiite religious leaders in Iran and Palestinian militant groups such as Hamas. Under his leadership, Hezbollah fought against Israel and sided with President Bashar al-Assad in conflicts in neighboring Syria.
Nabil Kaouk Nabil Kaouk, deputy chairman of Hezbollah Central Council, was killed in an Israeli airstrike south of Beirut, a day after Nasrallah. He joined the militant group in its early days in the 1980s. Kaouk also served as Hezbollah’s military commander in southern Lebanon from 1995 to 2010. He appeared in the media many times and gave speeches to his supporters, including at funerals of Hezbollah militants. He was seen as a potential successor to Nasrallah.
Hashim Safieddin Israeli airstrikes on a suburb of Beirut killed Hezbollah’s new leader, Hashim Safieddin, on October 3, 2024, just days after he succeeded his predecessor, Hassan Nasrallah. A familiar face in Lebanon and a leader with close ties to Iran, he was a member of the Shura Council, the group’s decision-making body, and the Jihad Council, which served as the group’s military command. He also chaired the Executive Council, which ran the schools and social programs. Safieddine was Nasrallah’s maternal cousin.
Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, who planned the attack on Israel on October 7, was killed by Israeli soldiers on October 16, 2024. Israel had vowed to kill Sinwar since the attack that triggered the ongoing war in southern Israel, but Sinwar’s death finally came as a result of a chance encounter. Israeli soldiers killed him inside a building in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, without knowing his identity until his body was found.
Mohammed Sinwar, believed to be the leader of Hamas’ armed wing, was killed in an Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip on May 13, 2025. He was the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar.
Hossein Salami On June 13, 2025, a wave of Israeli attacks on different parts of Iran killed many high-ranking officials from the Iranian army and the main paramilitary force. Among the senior military officials killed was General Hossein Salami, head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
Ahmed Al-Rahawi Ahmed al-Rahawi, prime minister of the rebel-controlled Houthi government, was killed in Israeli airstrikes on Yemen’s capital Sanaa on August 28, 2025. He was the most senior Houthi official killed since the Israeli-U.S. campaign against the militant group earlier this year.
Abu Ubeida Israel said that one of its airstrikes on Gaza on August 30, 2025 killed a longtime spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing, whom it identified as Hudahaifa Kahlout. Israel had said that Kahlout, better known by his pseudonym Abu Obeida, was behind the release of videos showing hostages as well as images of the Hamas-led attack that sparked the war.
