From Hassan Nasrallah to Faud Shukr: Top 10 Hezbollah leaders Israel has 'ELIMINATED' so far; check full list
By Sunita Iyer | First Published Sep 28, 2024, 3:31 PM ISTIsrael announced on Saturday that it had killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, marking a significant blow to the Lebanese militant group after months of ongoing conflict.
Israel announced on Saturday that it had killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, marking a significant blow to the Lebanese militant group after months of ongoing conflict. Hezbollah has not yet confirmed the claim. If true, Nasrallah would be the most influential figure killed by Israel during the recent escalations with Hezbollah.
Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorize the world.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF)הרמטכ״ל לאחר חיסול נסראללה: ״זה לא סוף ארגז הכלים. המסר פשוט, לכל מי שמאיים על אזרחי מדינת ישראל - נדע להגיע אליו״ pic.twitter.com/UNki8PWubt
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline)According to the Israeli military, the airstrike also claimed the lives of Ali Karki, Commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front, along with several other Hezbollah commanders. The military stated that the precise strike took place on Friday, targeting Hezbollah leadership as they gathered at their headquarters in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut.
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Israel’s Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, stated on Saturday that the elimination of Hassan Nasrallah was "not the end of our toolbox," signaling that further strikes were in the works. He noted that the operation targeting Hezbollah leadership was the culmination of extensive preparation over a prolonged period.
We searched up “dismantled” on the internet, this is the picture that came up: pic.twitter.com/C5p3jmhwIZ
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF)Here's a look at the top 10 Hezbollah commanders Israel has eliminated so far:
1) Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary-General of Hezbollah
Hassan Nasrallah led Hezbollah since 1992, after the assassination of his predecessor, Abbas al-Musawi. Born in Beirut in 1960, he grew up in a large Shia family and joined the Amal Movement before playing a key role in Hezbollah's formation during Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon. With Iranian support, Hezbollah emerged as a major force against Israel.
Under Nasrallah's leadership, Hezbollah helped end Israel's 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000, which he hailed as a "divine victory." The 2006 war with Israel further boosted his influence, despite a stalemate. Over the years, Hezbollah has grown militarily with Iranian backing, becoming a powerful non-state actor in the region.
Nasrallah was known for his strong support of the Palestinian cause, with Hezbollah actively involved in conflicts along the Israeli-Lebanese border, including recent operations linked to the Israel-Hamas conflict. His speeches were often delivered from secret locations due to security concerns.
2) Ibrahim Muhammad Qabisi, Hezbollah's head of missiles and rockets
An airstrike on the southern suburbs of Beirut on September 24 killed Qabisi, a commander and leading figure in Hezbollah's rocket division. Known as “Hajj Abu Musa,” he was the leader of Hezbollah’s missile and rocket units and was responsible for approximately 2,000 attacks on Israel. The Israeli military said Qabisi, “was responsible for launching missiles toward Israeli civilians. He also served as a significant source of knowledge in the field of missiles and had close ties to senior military leaders in Hezbollah.”
3) Ibrahim Aqil, Head of operations and commander of Radwan Force
Hezbollah's operations commander, Ibrahim Aqil, was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 20. Also known by the aliases Tahsin and Abdelqader, Aqil was a member of Hezbollah's top military body, the Jihad Council. The United States has linked him to the Beirut truck bombings that targeted the American embassy in April 1983, resulting in 63 fatalities, as well as the bombing of a U.S. Marine barracks six months later, which killed 241 people.
4) Faud Shukr, Highest-ranking military commander in Hezbollah and Head of organization's strategic unit
An Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut on July 30 resulted in the death of Hezbollah's top commander, Fuad Shukr, who was identified by the Israeli military as the right-hand man to Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Shukr had been a prominent military figure within Hezbollah since its establishment by Iran's Revolutionary Guards over four decades ago. In 2015, the United States imposed sanctions on Shukr, accusing him of playing a key role in the 1983 bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut, which claimed the lives of 241 US military personnel.
5) Ali Karaki, Commander of the Southern Front
Ali Karaki, also known as "Abou Fadel," was the leader of Hezbollah's southern front and was born in 1967 in the Nabatieh district. He held a Guinean nationality and, like previous commanders Fuad Shukur and Ibrahim Aqil, was a member of Hezbollah's top military body, the Jihad Council. Karaki served as the direct superior to Taleb Abdallah and Mohammad Nasser, commanders of Hezbollah's "Nasr" and "Aziz" units, which operate in the area south of the Litani River. He previously survived an Israeli strike that killed another commander, Abbas al-Debs, on February 8. The U.S. sanctioned him in September 2019, along with other council members. Following the assassination of Aqil, head of Hezbollah's elite Radwan unit, Karaki was seen as a strong contender to succeed him.
6) Wissam al-Tawil, Commander of the Radwan Force
Wissam al-Tawil, a commander of the elite Radwan force within the terror group, was killed in the Lebanese town of Majdal Selm on January 8, 2024, when a missile struck the SUV he was traveling in. Hezbollah had back then confirmed that Tawil was killed, naming him as one of the group’s fighters but provided few other details. Tawil was one of the most senior Hezbollah commanders killed since hostilities broke out following the October 7 Hamas massacre. After the announcement of Tawil’s death, Hezbollah released a series of images featuring him in military fatigues. Other photos depicted him meeting with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, former military commander Imad Mughniyeh—who was killed in Syria in 2008—and the assassinated Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.
7) Abu Hassan Samir, Head of the Radwan Force's Training Unit and former Commander of the Radwan Force
Among those killed was Abu Hassan Samir, who served as the head of the Radwan Force training unit. He held multiple positions within Hezbollah and was the commander of the Radwan Force for a decade until early 2024. Samir was a key architect of the "Conquer the Galilee" attack plan and played a significant role in reinforcing Hezbollah's presence in southern Lebanon while enhancing the organization's ground combat capabilities. As the Radwan Force commander, he planned and executed numerous shooting attacks and infiltrations into Israeli territory.
8) Muhammad Hussein Srour, Commander of the Aerial Command
Hezbollah’s Aerial Command commander, Md Hussein Srour, was eliminated in a precise Israeli Air Force strike in Beirut on September 27. Srour was responsible for advancing and directing numerous aerial attacks targeting Israeli civilians. He executed several terrorist operations using UAVs and explosive devices against Israeli soldiers and civilians. In recent years, he spearheaded the UAV manufacturing project in southern Lebanon, establishing production and intelligence-gathering sites near civilian infrastructure. Srour also served as the commander of Hezbollah's surface-to-air missile unit and acted as the group’s emissary to Yemen, collaborating with the Houthi regime’s Aerial Command.
9) Sami Taleb Abdullah, Commander of 'Nasser' Unit
Senior Hezbollah field commander Abdallah was killed on June 12 in a strike attributed to Israel, which claimed to have targeted a command and control center in southern Lebanon. According to security sources in Lebanon, he was the commander for Hezbollah's central region along the southern border and held a rank equivalent to that of Nasser. His death led to a significant retaliatory response from the group, resulting in a heavy barrage of rockets fired across the border into Israel.
10) Mohammed Nasser, Commander of the 'Aziz' Unit
Mohammed Nasser was killed in an Israeli airstrike on July 3, with Israel claiming responsibility for the strike. Nasser, a senior commander in Hezbollah, headed a unit tasked with launching attacks from southwestern Lebanon into Israel. According to senior security sources in Lebanon, he was in charge of a critical section of Hezbollah's operations along the border.
Abu Ali Rida, the Commander of Hezbollah’s Badr Unit, is responsible for the region north of the Litani River up to the city of Sidon in Lebanon. He is currently the last remaining regional Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon.
It's worth noting that apart from these Hezbollah top leaders, Israel have so far also eliminated Ismail Haniyeh, political chief of Hamas, Mohammed Deif, the mastermind of the October 7 massacre, and Saleh al-Arouri, founder of Hamas military wing Qassam Brigades.
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