List of Israeli assassinations
The following is a list of alleged and confirmed assassinations reported to have been conducted by the State of Israel. It includes attempts on notable persons who were reported to have been specifically targeted by the various Israeli security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
According to Eyal Weizman, "targeted assassinations have become the most significant and frequent form of Israeli military attack", and serve not only to contain terror but as a "political tool" to control Palestinian territories Israel has otherwise withdrawn from. In response to protests over the number of civilians killed in targeting operations, and the refusal of a number of pilots to engage in such missions in 2003, Israel set up groups to minimize collateral damage in 2003 to establish acceptable levels of damage to bystanders. In 2006 "focused lethality munitions", missiles with intense but highly localized explosive were introduced to this end, and in November a legal committee was set up to rule on assassinations.
There is no clear definition of "targeted killing" under international law. The Supreme Court of Israel, in response to a suit on the practice, mainly regarded actions in the Palestinian Territories, ruled on 14 December 2006 that such actions took place in an 'international armed conflict' but that the "terrorists", as civilians, lacked combatant status under international law. Yet they were, in the court's view, civilians participating directly in hostilities, which would mean they lose their immunity. It also ruled, following a precedent set forth by the European Court of Human Rights in its McCann and Others v United Kingdom judgement, that a 'law of proportionality', balancing military necessity with humanity, must apply. Assassination were permitted if "strong and persuasive information" concerning the target's identity existed; if the mission served to curtail terror; and if other techniques, such as attempting to arrest the target, would gravely endanger soldiers' lives.
Nils Melzer in his 2006 study Targeted Killing in International Law defines targeted killings in terms of five criteria, summed up as "the use of lethal force attributable to a subject of international law with the intent, premeditation and deliberation to kill individually selected persons who are not in the physical custody of those targeting them." Before 2001 Israel denied it practiced or has a policy of conducting extrajudicial executions.
The term itself gained widespread currency only after Israel went public concerning its policy regarding alleged terrorists in the Palestinian territories. Early into the Second Intifada, it became the first state to publicly outline a policy of “liquidation” and “preemptive targeted killing,” when two female bystanders were killed during an operation to kill a Palestinian militant, Hussein ‘Abayat, on 9 November 2000. Killings in the past were often premised on revenge for earlier crimes, and required a quasi-judicial commission to convict the target of culpability before action was taken. The policy, re-introduced by Ariel Sharon in the face of suicide bombings, no longer took evidence of potential involvement by the target in future attacks on Israel as decisive, and the decision was left to the discretion of the Prime Minister and Shin Bet.
According to the former Legal Advisor to the State Department Judge Abraham Sofaer:
...killings in self-defense are no more "assassinations" in international affairs than they are murders when undertaken by our police forces against domestic killers. Targeted killings in self-defense have been authoritatively determined by the federal government to fall outside the assassination prohibition.
A state engaged in such activities must however, Sofaer concluded, openly acknowledge its responsibility and accept accountability for mistakes made.
This characterization is criticized by many, including Amnesty International.
B'tselem has calculated that between 2002 and May 2008, at least 387 Palestinians died as a result of Israeli targeted killings, of which 234 were the targets, and the rest collateral casualties. The majority of Israeli targeted killings have taken place in Area A of the West Bank lying within the jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority. Some of killings listed below have been denied by Israel. Most fall within a series of campaigns, including Operation Wrath of God, Israeli actions in the wake of the al-Aqsa Intifada, and strikes during the 2008–09 Gaza War. Gaza, according to Eyal Weizman, has now become 'the world's largest laboratory for airborne assassinations.' According to reports, as part of the long-term cease-fire terms negotiated between Israel, Hamas and other Palestinian groups to end the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, Israel pledged it would desist from its targeted killings against Palestinian terrorists and faction leaders.
The policy of targeted killings is known in Hebrew as "focused foiling".
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2000s
- 2000, September 29–2001, April 25. According to Palestinian sources, the IDF assassinated 13 political activists in Area A under full Palestinian Authority, with 9 civilian casualties.
- 2001 Israel killed 35 suspected Palestinian militants.
- 2002 Israel killed 72 suspected militants.
- 2003 The Israeli government authorized the killing of Hamas's entire political leadership in Gaza, 'without further notice,' in a method called 'the hunting season' in order to strengthen the position of moderates and Mahmoud Abbas.
- 2005 In February Israel announced a suspension of targeted killings, while reserving the right to kill allegedly 'ticking bombs'.
| Date | Place | Location | Target | Description | Action | Executor |
| November 9, 2000 | Beit Sahur | Hussein Mohammed Abayat ; | Abayat was a senior official of the Fatah faction Tanzim. | Killed while driving his Mitsubishi by a Hellfire anti-tank missile fired from an Israeli Apache helicopter. Rahma She’ibat, ; ‘Aziza Dannoun Jobran, two local women, were killed by a second missile, and Nazhmi She’ibat and his wife were also injured. Accused of shooting at the Gilo settlement. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| November 22, 2000 | Morag | Jamal Abdel Raziq, and Awni Dhuheir. | Senior official of the Fatah faction Tanzim | Killed on the Rafah-Khan Yunis western road near the junction leading to Morag settlement while in a Honda Civic with the driver, Awni Dhuheir when their car was machine-gunned from two tanks at close range. The first version, they were about to attack Morag; the second version, Raziq was targeted after firing at IDF soldiers. His uncle was later sentenced to death for collaborating in his nephew's death by furnishing Israel with details. Two bystanders in a taxi behind them also killed. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| November 23, 2000 | Nablus | Ibrahim 'Abd al-Karim Bani 'Odeh | Unknown. Had been jailed for 3 years by the PNA until two weeks before his death. | Killed while driving a Subaru near Al-Salam mosque. Israeli version, he died from his own rudimentary bomb. Palestinian version: his cousin ‘Allan Bani ‘Oudeh confessed to collaborating with Israel in an assassination, and was convicted and shot in Jan 2001. | ? | |
| December 11, 2000 | Nablus | Anwar Mahmoud Hamran | A PIJ bombing suspect. Jailed for 2 years by PNA and released 6 weeks before his death. | Targeted on a campus of Al-Quds Open University while waiting for a taxi-cab. Shot 19 times by a sniper at 500 yards. IDF version shot by soldiers in self-defence. Palestinian version, he died with books in his hand. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| December 12, 2000 | al-Khader | Yusef Ahmad Mahmoud Abu Sawi | Unknown | Targeted and shot by a sniper at 200 metres, 17 bullets. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| December 13, 2000 | Hebron | ‘Abbas ‘Othman El-‘Oweiwi | Hamas activist | Targeted and shot 3 times in head and chest by a sniper while standing in front of his store in Wadi Al-Tuffah Street. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| December 14, 2000 | Burin | Saed Ibrahim Taha al-Kharuf | Targeted and shot dead. rowspan=2|Israel Defense Forces. | - | ||
| December 14, 2000 | Junction of Salah el-Din near Deir al-Balah | Hani Hussein Abu Bakra | Israeli version. Hamas activist shot as he tried to fire from a pistol. | Driver of a Hyundai taxi van. Palestinian version: shot while reaching for his identity card which he was asked to produce when stopped. 4 of seven passengers wounded, one of whom, ‘Abdullah ‘Eissa Gannan, 40, died 10 days later. | - | |
| December 17, 2000 | Qalandiyya | Samih Malabi | Tanzim officer. | Mobile phone bomb. | ? | |
| December 31, 2000 | Tulkarem | Thabat Ahmad Thabat | Classed by Israel as head of Tanzim cell. Dentist, lecturer on public health at Al Quds University, and Fatah Secretary-General on the West Bank. | Israeli Special Forces sniper shot him as he drove his car from his home in Ramin, classified as an apparent political assassination. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| February 13, 2001 | Gaza City | Mas’oud Hussein ‘Ayyad | Lieutenant-colonel in Force 17, an aide of Yasser Arafat held responsible for a failed mortar attack on a Jewish settlement in Gaza. The IDF also alleged, without providing evidence, that he intended to form a Hezbollah cell in the Gaza Strip. | Killed while driving a Hyundai in Jabalia Camp by a Cobra gunship launching 3rockets. | Israeli Air Force | |
| February 19, 2001 | Nablus | Mahmoud Suleiman El-Madani | Hamas activist | Shot by two men in plainclothes as he left a mosque. As they fled, according to the Palestinian version, covering fire was provided by an Israeli unit on Mount Gerizim. | ||
| April 2, 2001 | Al-Barazil neighborhood of Rafah | Mohammed ‘Attwa ‘Abdel-‘Aal | PIJ | Combat helicopters fired three rockets at his Peugeot Thunder, also hitting the taxi behind, whose occupants survived. | Israeli Air Force | |
| April 5, 2001 | Jenin | Iyad Mohammed Hardan | Head of the PIJ in Jenin. IDF version. He was involved in the 1997 Mahane Yehuda Market Bombings | Blown up in a public phone booth, when, reportedly, an Israeli helicopter was flying overhead.Baruch Kimmerling classifies it as an apparent political execution to provoke Palestinians. | ||
| April 25, 2001 | Rafah | Ramadan Ismail ‘Azzam ; Samir Sabri Zo’rob ; Sa’di Mohammed El-Dabbas ; Yasser Hamdan El-Dabbas | Popular Resistance Committees members | Blown up while examining a triangular object with flashing lights that had been reported as lying near the border earlier that day. Palestinians say the object exploded as an Israeli helicopter passed overhead. | ||
| May 5, 2001 | Bethlehem | Ahmad Khalil ‘Eissa Assad | PIJ activist | Hit while leaving his house for work, reportedly from shots fired from the Israeli military outpost at Tel Abu Zaid, 250 metres away. His niece, Ala, was also injured. Israel said the victim intended carrying out armed operations in the future inside Israel. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| May 12, 2001 | Jenin | Mutassam Mohammed al-Sabagh | Fatah activist | In a car with two Palestinian intelligence officers, who managed to escape on sighting an Apache helicopter, which struck it with three missiles. The two officers were also wounded. A fourth missile struck a Palestinian police car killing Sergeant Aalam al-Raziq al-Jaloudi and injuring Lieutenant Tariq Mohammed Amin al-Haj. Two bystanders also wounded. Israeli Army accused the three of plotting attacks on nearby settlers. | Israeli Air Force | |
| June 24, 2001 | Nablus | Osama Fatih al-Jawabra | al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade militant. His name was on an Israeli wanted list submitted to PNA. | Bomb exploded as he picked up a phone in a public telephone booth. Two brothers, Malik Shabaro, and Amar Shabaro injured. | Alleged by PNA to be IDF,. but denied by the Israeli government. | |
| July 17, 2001 | Bethlehem | Omar Ahmed Sa’adeh | Hamas leader | Killed by two wire-guided missiles fired by two Israeli helicopter gunships at his garden hut, also killing Taha Aal-Arrouj. His brother Izhaq Ahmed Sa’adeh, a peace activist, and his cousin Hamad Saleh Sa’adeh, were killed by a further missile as they rushed towards the rubble. A dozen people nearby were wounded. Israel maintained that it was a preventive attack on a planner of a terrorist attack at the Maccabiah Games. | Israeli Air Force | |
| July 23, 2001 | 'Anin, west of Jenin | Mustafa Yusuf Hussein Yassin | ? | Released from an Israeli prison earlier that day. According to his wife, he opened the door on hearing noises outside their home and was shot at point-blank range in front of his family. Israeli sources say he was planning to bomb Israeli targets. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| July 25, 2001 | Nablus | Salah Nour al-Din Khalil Darwouza | Hamas | Car hit while driving in Nablus. He evaded two missiles from an Apache helicopter, but the car was hit by a further 4. Israel claimed he planned bombing attacks on French Hill, and Netanya. | Israeli Air Force | |
| July 31, 2001 | Nablus | Jamal Mansour ; Jamal Salim Damouni | High-ranking official of Hamas' West Bank political wing | Killed when office struck by helicopter-launched missiles as Mansour was giving an interview to journalists in the Palestinian Centre for Studies and Media. 4 others killed in the room: Mohammed al-Bishawi ; Othman Qathnani ; Omar Mansour ; Fahim Dawabsha,. Two children, aged 5 and 8, outside were also killed, and three more adults injured by shrapnel. Eyal Weizman states its purpose was to derail peace talks. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| August 5, 2001 | Tulkarm | Amer Mansour Habiri/Aamer Mansour al-Hudairy | Hamas | Missiles fired at the car. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| August 20, 2001 | Hebron | Imad Abu Sneneh | Leader of Tanzim | Shot and killed. | Israeli undercover team | |
| August 27, 2001 | Ramallah | Abu Ali Mustafa | Head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and senior executive leader of the PLO. | Killed by laser-guided missiles fired from Apache helicopters while talking on the phone in his office.Baruch Kimmerling classifies it as an apparent political execution to provoke Palestinians. Other sources say Shin Bet convinced the Israeli Cabinet he was connected to terrorism. | Israeli Air Force | |
| September 6, 2001 | Tulkarm | 'Omar Mahmoud Dib Subuh ; Mustafa 'Ahed Hassan 'Anbas. | Unknown | Targeted and killed by a helicopter missile in an attempt to assassinate 4 Palestinians, of whom 2 died. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| October 14, 2001 | Qalqiliya | 'Abd a-Rahman Sa'id Hamed | Unknown | Targeted by a sniper and shot at the entrance to his house. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| October 15, 2001 | Nablus | Ahmad Hassan Marshud | Unknown | Targeted killing by explosion. | ? | |
| October 18, 2001 | Beit Sahur | Jamal 'Abdallah 'Abayiat ; 'Issa 'Atef Khatib 'Abayiat ; 'Atef Ahmad 'Abayiat. | Unknown | The three, all relatives were killed while driving a Jeep. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| October 22, 2001 | Nablus | Ayman Halawah. | Unknown | Killed while riding in a car. | ? | |
| 31 October 2001 | Hebron | Jamil Jadallah al-Qawasmeh. | Unknown | Killed by a helicopter missile which struck his house. | Israeli Air Force | |
| 2 November 2001 | Tulkarm | Fahmi Abu 'Easheh ; Yasser 'Asira | Unknown | Killed by gunfire whole driving in a car. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| 23 November 2001 | Far'a | Mahmoud a-Shuli ; Maamun 'Awaisa ; Ayman 'Awaisa. | Unknown | all three killed while riding in a taxi by a helicopter missile. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| December 10, 2001 | Hebron | Burhan al-Haymuni ; Shadi Ahmad 'Arfah | - | Two brothers killed in a vehicle hit by a helicopter missile during a targeted killing of a person in a nearby car. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| January 14, 2002 | Tulkarem | Raed Karmi | Head of the Tanzim in Tulkarem | He had planned the murders of two Israelis in Tulkarem and was behind a failed assassination attempt on the life of an Israeli Air Force colonel. After surviving an attempt to kill him by helicopter on September 6, 2001, he was persuaded by Arafat to desist from violence but killed twenty three days after a ceasefire was in place because the Shin Bet was convinced they would never have the same operational opportunity to take him out. Killed from a bomb planted in a cemetery wall, set off by a UAV circling above when he passed by it on a visit to his mistress, to create the impression he had blown himself up accidentally. | Baruch Kimmerling classifies it as an apparent political execution to provoke Palestinians. Eyal Weizman states its purpose was to derail peace talks. | |
| January 22, 2002 | Nablus | Yusif Suragji | West Bank head of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Three other Hamas members also killed. Palestinian Authority claims it was an assassination. | Killed in a raid on an alleged explosives factory. | Israeli Defence Forces | |
| January 24, 2002 | Khan Yunis | Adli Hamadan | Senior Hamas member | missile attack on car. | Israeli Air Force | |
| February 4, 2002 | Rafah | Ayman Bihdari | DFLP member wanted for 25 August 2001 raid in which three Israeli soldiers were killed. | missile attack on car. Four other DFLP members killed. | Israeli Air Force | |
| February 16, 2002 | Jenin | Nazih Mahmoud Abu a-Saba' | Second ranking Hamas officer in Jenin. | Killed by a bomb planted in his car, in a targeted killing. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| March 5, 2002 | al-Birah | Mohammad Abu Halawa ; Fawzi Murar ; 'Omar Hussein Nimer Qadan. | Wanted AMB member. | Missile fired at car from helicopter, Murar and Qadan according to B'tselem were not combatants at the time. | Israeli Air Force | |
| March 6, 2002 | Gaza City | Abdel Rahman Ghadal | Hamas member | Missile attack on his home. | Israeli Air Force | |
| March 9, 2002 | Ramallah | Samer Wajih Yunes 'Awis | Not a participant in hostilities at the time, according to B'tselem. | Killed by missile fired from a helicopter, which struck a car he was travelling in. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| March 14, 2002 | Anabta | Mutasen Hamad ; 'Atef Subhi Balbisi . | Hamad was an Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade member and bomb maker. | 3 missiles fired from an Israeli attack helicopter at Hamad's car, near a chicken farm. A Palestinian source say a bystander, a chicken farmer was also killed. An Israeli sources identify him as a terrorist. | Israeli Air Force | |
| April 5, 2002 | Tubas | Qeis 'Adwan ; Saed 'Awwad ; Majdi Balasmeh ; Ashraf Daraghmeh ; Muhammad Kmeil ; Munqez Sawafta | Qeis 'adwan was a Hamas activist and bomb maker to whom several suicide bomb attacks were attributed. | Targeted in a combined drone, tank and special forces siege during Operation Defensive Shield. Given hospitality in his house by Munqez Sawafta. After hours of gunfire, and a refusal to surrender, a D-9 armored bulldozer crushed part of the house and the remaining 3 were shot. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| April 22, 2002 | Hebron | Marwan Zaloum and Samir Abu Rajoub. | Tanzim Hebron leader and Force 17 member | Killed by a helicopter missile while driving a car. Zaloum was on an Israeli wanted list, and thought responsible for shootings, including that Shalhevet Pass. Israeli helicopter strike. | Israeli Air Force | |
| May 22, 2002 | Balata refugee camp, Nablus | Iyad Hamdan ; 'Imad Khatib ; Mahmoud 'Abdallah Sa'id Titi ; Bashir Yaish | Unknown, the first three were targeted. | All four killed by a shell shot from an Israeli tank. Yaish was not involved in hostilities at the time. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| June 24, 2002 | Rafah | Yasir Raziq, 'Amr Kufa. | Izzeddln al-Qassam Brigades leaders. | Missiles fired at two taxis, killing two other passengers, the two drivers and injuring 13 bystanders. | Israeli Air Force | |
| June 30, 2002 | Nablus | Muhaned Taher, Imad Draoza. | Muhaned Taher, nom de guerre "Engineer 4", was a master Hamas bomber claimed by Israel to be responsible for both the Patt Junction Bus Bombing and the Dolphinarium discotheque suicide bombing. | Died with a deputy in a shoot-out with Israeli raiding commandos. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| June 17, 2002 | al-Khader | ? | Shot by an Israeli sniper in a targeted killing while in his car. | Israel Defense Forces | ||
| July 4, 2002 | Gaza City | Jihad Amerin/ Jihad Amrain | Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades Colonel. | Killed in a car bomb. | Israel Security Forces. | |
| July 23, 2002 | Gaza City | Salah Shahade | Leader of Hamas Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades | Killed by 2,205-pound explosive dropped by an F-16. The attack also killed fourteen other Palestinians including his wife and nine children. Yesh Gvul and Gush Shalom tried to have Dan Halutz indicted, but the case was dropped. Killed on the eve of an announced unilateral cease-fire by Tanzim and Eyal Weizman states its purpose was to derail peace talks. | Israeli Air Force. 27 reserve pilots undersigned a pilots' letter refusing to serve in IAF sorties over the West Bank and Gaza in protest. | |
| August 6, 2002 | Jaba, Jenin | Ali Ajuri, Murad Marshud | Classified as people not known to be involved in the fighting. | Ajuri was killed by an air-to-surface missile, during an attempt to arrest him. Murad Marshud killed as bystander. | Israeli Air Force. 27 reserve pilots undersigned a pilots' letter refusing to serve in IAF sorties over the West Bank and Gaza in protest. | |
| August 14, 2002 | Tubas | Nassa Jarrar | Senior member of Hamas's militant wing. | Died crushed by rubble when an IDF bulldozer demolished his house. The IDF admitted it compelled at gunpoint Nidal Abu M'khisan to act as a human shield and get the victim out of his house. Jarrar shot the youth, believing he was an IDF soldier. The victim was wheelchair bound. Israel suspected him of preparing a bomb an Israeli high-rise building. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| August 31 | Tubas | Bahira Daraghmeh ; Ousamah Daraghmeh ; Raafat Daraghmeh ; Yazid 'Abd al-Razaq Daraghmeh ; Sari Mahmoud Subuh. | Five victims who did not participate in hostilities when killed during a targeted killing, from a helicopter fired missile. An eyewitness account was later provided by 'Aref Daraghmeh. "The helicopter... fired a third missile towards a silver Mitsubishi, which had four people in it. The missile hit the trunk, and the car spun around its axle. I saw a man escaping the car and running away. He ran about 25 meters and then fell to the ground and died. The three other passengers remained inside. I saw an arm and an upper part of a skull flying out of the car. The car went up in flames, and I could see three bodies burning inside it. Three minutes later, after the Israeli helicopters left, I went out to the street and began to shout. I saw people lying on the ground. Among them was six-year-old Bahira.. She was dead.. I also saw Bahira's cousin, Osama.. I saw Osama's mother running towards Bahira, picking her up and heading towards the a-Shifa clinic, which is about 500 meters away." | |||
| October 13, 2002 | Beit Jala | Muhammad Ishteiwi 'Abayat | ? | Killed in an explosion in a telephone booth, in a targeted killing. | ||
| October 29, 2002 | Tubas | Assim Sawafta Age 19 | Hamas Izzedine al Qassam military leader. | Killed by an undercover army unit, after failing to surrender. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| November 4, 2002 | Nablus | Hamed 'Omar a-Sader ; Firas Abu Ghazala. | Unknown | Killed by a car-bomb. According to B'tselem, Firas Abu Ghazala was not engaged in hostilities at the time. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| November 26, 2002 | Jenin | Alah Sabbagh ; Imad Nasrti/'Imad Nasharteh ; | Sabbagh reportedly an Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade member, Nasrti Hamas local leader. | Killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in the Jenin refugee camp by two missiles fired into a room. | Israeli Air Force | |
| December 23, 2002 | wadi Burqin near Jenin | Shumann Hassan Subuh and Mustafa Kash | Subah was a Hamas commander and bomb maker. | Ambushed by IDF unit as Kash drove a tractor between Burqin and Al-Yamun. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| January 30, 2003 | Burqin | Faiz al-Jabber | ? | Targeted when Israeli forces opened fire at a Fatah group. He fled, was wounded, then shot dead at close range. | Israeli Border Police | |
| March 8, 2003 | Gaza City | Ibrahim al-Makadmeh | Gaza Dentist. Second-in-Command of Hamas's Military Wing. Hamas political leader. | He and three of his aides killed by helicopter-fired missiles. | Israeli Air Force | |
| March 18, 2003 | Baqat al-Hatab | Nasser Asida | Hamas commander | Shot while hiding in a cave, On Israel's most wanted list as alleged mastermind of attacks on Israeli settlements in the West Bank. | Israel Defense Forces's Kfir Brigade | |
| March 25, 2003 | Bethlehem | Mwafaq 'Abd a-Razaq Shhadeh Badawneh ; 'Alaa Iyad ; Nader Salameh Jawarish ; Christine George S'adeh | ? | Israeli Defence Forces version, agents were ambushed and shot dead 2 Palestinian gunmen, and a girl in a car that blundered into the battle, and was believed to be part of the ambush. The girl's parents and sister were wounded. B'tselem reports that three of the 4 did not participate in hostilities at the time, but were killed during the targeted assassination by an undercover team of Nader Gawarish and Nader Salameh Jawarish | Israel Defense Forces's Kfir Brigade | |
| April 8, 2003 | Zeitoun, Gaza City | Said al-Arabid | Hamas | Israeli Air Force strike on his car followed by helicopter missiles. Seven Palestinians, ranging from 6 to 75, were killed, 47 wounded, 8 critically. | Israeli Air Force | |
| April 9, 2003 | Gaza City | Mahmoud Zatma | Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine Senior Commander, Bomb Maker | Apache helicopter hit the car he was driving in Gaza City, 10 bystanders injured. | Israeli Air Force | |
| April 12, 2003 | Tulkarm | Jasser Hussein Ahmad 'Alumi | ? | Killed by gunfire. Object of a targeted killing. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| April 10, 2003 | Tulkarm | Yasser Alemi | Fatah, Tanzim | Shot and killed as a fugitive in Tulkarm. | Israel Border Police | |
| April 29, 2003 | Nidal Salameh | PFLP | Killed when 4 helicopter missiles struck his car | Israeli Air Force | ||
| May 8, 2003 | Gaza City | Iyad el-Bek | Aide of Salah Shehade, Hamas activist. | Killed by three helicopter missiles fired at a car. | Israeli Air Force | |
| June 11, 2003 | Gaza City | Tito Massoud and Soffil Abu Nahez | Massoud was a senior member of Hamas's military wing. | Retaliatory strike one hour after the Davidka Square bus bombing. 4 bystanders also killed | Israeli Air Force | |
| June 12, 2003 | Gaza City | Jihad Srour and Yasser Taha | Hamas members | Killed by between 4 and 6 helicopter missiles while their car was caught in a traffic jam, near a cemetery where victims of the June 11 strike the day before were being buried. Collateral damage consisted of 6 other victims including Taha's wife and child. 25 others were injured by the blasts. | Israeli Air Force | |
| June 12, 2003 | Jenin | Fadi Taisir Jaradat ; Saleh Suliman Jaradat | Saleh Suliman Jaradat was an Islamic Jihad activist | Both killed at the entrance of their home, the latter being the target. Fadi Jaradat did not participate in hostilities at the time, according to B'tselem. | Israel Defense Forces Their killing led to their sister/cousin Hanadi Jaradat's suicide attack on the Maxim restaurant. | |
| June 21, 2003 | Hebron | 'Abdallah 'Abd al-Qader Husseini al-Qawasmeh | Wanted by IDF | Shot dead after getting out of a taxi before a mosque. Three vans approached, with a dozen Israelis disguised as Palestinian labourers, and he was shot in the leg, perhaps while fleeing to a nearby field, and then finished off. | Israel Defense Forces Their killing led to their sister/cousin Hanadi Jaradat's suicide attack on the Maxim restaurant. | |
| August 21, 2003 | Gaza City | Ismail Abu Shanab | Engineer and high-ranking Hamas military commander. High-ranking Hamas official | Missile strike, ending a cease-fire. | Israeli Air Force | |
| August 24, 2003 | Gaza City | Walid el Hams, Ahmed Rashdi Eshtwi, Ahmed Abu Halala, Muhammad Abu Lubda | Hamas members. Eshtwi was said by the IDF to be a Hamas liaison officer with West Bank cells. | Twin helicopter missile strike as the five were sitting in a vacant lot near a Force 17 base. Several bystanders were injured, and a further Hamas member critically wounded. | Israeli Air Force | |
| August 26, 2003 | Gaza City | Khaled Massoud brother of Tito Massoud, killed 3 months earlier. | Hamas Qassam rocket designer, alleged to be involved in mortar strikes. | Attempted assassination of Massoud, who was with two other Hamas activists, Wa'al Akilan and Massoud Abu Sahila, in a car. Alerted to the threat, the three men managed to escape from their car as 3 missiles struck it and killed a passing 65-year-old Jabaliya donkey driver Hassan Hemlawi, who was driving his cart. Two bystanders were also wounded, including four children. | Israeli Air Force | |
| August 28, 2003 | Khan Yunis | Hamdi Khalaq | Izzedine al Qassam | 3 missiles struck hit a donkey cart Khalaq was driving. Three Gazans nearby were wounded. The IDF said he was on his way to a mortar attack on an Israeli settlement in the Gaza Strip. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| August 30, 2003 | On a road linking the Nusseirat and Bureij refugee camps | Abdullah Akel and Farid Mayet | Hamas senior operatives, said to have fired mortar shells and Qassam rocks. | Killed when 4 helicopter missiles struck their pickup truck. Seven others Palestinians were wounded by the fire.. IDF soldiers machine-gunned an 8-year-old girl Aya Fayad the same day in the Khan Yunis refugee camp, while, according to IDF reports, shooting at road-bomb militants detonating bombs on a patrol route. | Israeli Air Force | |
| September 1, 2003 | Gaza City | Khader Houssre | Hamas member | Killed when 4 helicopter missiles struck a car with 3 Hamas members, in a crowded side street. The second was critically wounded, while the other managed to flee. 25 bystanders were injured in the strike. | Israeli Air Force | |
| October 28, 2003 | Tulharm Refugee Camp | Ibrahim 'Aref Ibrahim a-N'anish | Wanted by IDF | Shot dead, unarmed, as he drove his car to the entrance of the refugee camp. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| December 25, 2003 | Gaza City | Mustafa Sabah | Senior Hamas bomb maker, thought behind explosions that blew up 3 Merkava tanks inside the Gaza Strip. | Killed when 3 helicopter missiles destroyed a Palestinian Authority compound where Sabah worked as a part-time guard. | Israeli Air Force | |
| December 25, 2003 | Gaza Strip | Mekled Hameid | PIJ military commander. | Helicopter gunship attack on car, killing its occupants, including two PIJ members. Two bystanders were also reported killed and some 25 bystanders injured. | Israeli Air Force | |
| February 2, 2004 | Nablus | Hashem Da'ud Ishteiwi Abu Hamdan ; Muhammad Hasanein Mustafa Abu Hamdan ; Nader Mahmoud 'Abd al-Hafiz Abu Leil ; Na'el Ziad Husseini Hasanein. | All four wanted by the IDF | Killed in a car struck by a missile fired from a helicopter. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| February 7, 2004 | Gaza City | Aziz Mahmoud Shami | Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine local field commander, claimed to be behind a 1995 double suicide bombing in Netanya. | Missile strike incinerated his car while he drove down a crowded street, and a passing 12-year-old boy was killed, and 10 others wounded. | ||
| February 28, 2004 | Jabaliya refugee camp | Amin Dahduh, Mahmoud Juda, Aiyman Dahduh. | PIJ military commander | Missiles hit his car as it travelled from Gaza city to the refugee camp. Two passengers are also killed and eleven bystanders wounded. | Israeli helicopters. | |
| March 3, 2004 | Gaza City | Tarad Jamal, Ibrahim Dayri and Ammar Hassan. | Senior Hamas members | Missiles from helicopter fired at their car as it drove down a coastal road. | Helicopter strike. | |
| March 16, 2004 | Gaza City | Nidal Salfiti and Shadi Muhana | Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine | Israeli missile strike. | ||
| March 22, 2004 | Gaza City | Ahmed Yassin | Co-founder and leader of Hamas | The purpose of the operation was to strengthen the position of Mahmoud Abbas. As Yassin left a mosque at dawn, he, 2 bodyguards, and 7 bystanders killed by Israeli Air Force AH-64 Apache-fired Hellfire missiles. 17 bystanders were wounded. | Israeli Air Force | |
| April 17, 2004 | Gaza City | Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi | Co-founder and leader of Hamas, and successor of Ahmed Yassin as leader of Hamas after his death | The purpose of the operation was to strengthen the position of Mahmoud Abbas. al-Rantissi was killed by helicopter-fired missiles, along with his son and bodyguard. Several bystanders were injured. | Israeli Air Force | |
| April 22, 2004 | Talluza | Yasser Ahmed Abu Laimun | Lecturer in hospital management at the Arab-American University in Jenin, mistaken for Imad Mohammed Janajra. IDF initially reported he was a Hamas member. | Initially reported shot after shooting, and then running away from an Israeli attack dog, trained to seize wanted individuals. His widow testified that he was shot, while in his garden, from a distance of 200 yards by gunfire from Israeli soldiers behind an oak tree. The IDF apologized. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| May 5, 2004 | Talluza | Imad Mohammed Janajra | Hamas leader | Ambushed in an olive grove, after an earlier attempt, mistaking Abu Laimun for him. Said by IDF to be armed and approaching them. | Golani Brigade's elite Egoz unit. | |
| May 30, 2004 | Zeitoun | Wael Nassar | Hamas mastermind behind the mine that blew up an Israeli troop carrier raiding Gaza City, on May 11, killing 6 soldier. | He was killed on his motorcycle, together with his aide, by a missile strike which also wounded 7 civilians, including a woman and two children. A second following missile killed another Hamas member nearby. | Helicopter strike | |
| June 14, 2004 | Nablus | Khalil Mahmoud Zuhdi Marshud 'Awad Hassan Ahmad Abu Zeid. | Head of Al-Aqsa Brigades in Nablus | Earlier targeted in a Nablus missile attack on a car on May 3, killing 3 Al Aqsa Brigade members. He was in a different vehicle. Killed when a missile hit a car outside the Balata refugee camp, also killing PIJ members Awad Abu Zeid e Mohammed Al Assi. Abu Zeid did not engage in hostilities when killed. Israeli Army radio said the decision to kill him followed on several failures to arrest him. The same day, an attempt to kill Zakaria Zubeidi, head of the Jenin al Aqsa Brigades, failed. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| June 26, 2004 | Nablus | Nayef Abu Sharkh Jafer el-Massari Fadi Bagit Sheikh Ibrahim and the others. | Respectively Tanzim Hamas Nablus officer; Islamic Jihad officer. | Killed by IDF paratroopers together with six other men found huddled in a secret tunnel beneath a house in the old city of Nablus, after trailing a fugitive into the house. | Israeli paratroopers. | |
| July 22, 2004 | Gaza City | Hazem Rahim | Islamic Jihad in Palestine member | Helicopter gunship missile strike on a car, killing Rahim and his deputy, Rauf Abu Asi. According to Israeli sources, Rahim had been seen on video two months earlier brandishing body parts of ambushed Israeli soldiers. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| July 29, 2004 | Near Rafah refugee camp | Amr Abu Suta, Zaki Abu Rakha | Abu al-Rish Brigades leader. | In a car, together with bodyguard, incinerated by Israeli helicopter fire. Accused of involvement in the shooting of an IDF officer, and a 1992 killing in a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| August 17, 2004 | Gaza City | Five dead. Four Unidentified? | The target was a Hamas Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades leader, Ahmed al-Jabari. | The five, included al-Jabari's 14-year-old son, his brother, his nephew and son-in-law, were killed in a drone missile strike on al-Jabari's home. About a dozen other Palestinians wounded. al-Jabari survived the attempt. | Israeli Air Force | |
| September 13, 2004 | Jenin | Mahmoud Ass'ad Rajab Abu Khalifah, Amjad Husseini 'Aref Abu Hassan, Yamen Feisal 'Abd al-Wahab Ayub | Al-Aqsa Brigades leader, deputy to Zakariya Zubeidi. | Killed together with two aides when a helicopter missile struck his car in the city centre. Amjad Hassan and Yamen Feisal 'Abd al-Wahab Ayub were not, according to B'tselem, involved in the fighting. | Israeli Air Force | |
| September 20, 2004 | Gaza City | Khaled Abu Shamiyeh | Hamas rocketry mechanic. | Car hit by missile | Israel Defense Forces | |
| September 21, 2004 | Gaza City | Nabil al-Saedi, Rabah Zaqout | Hamas mid-ranking operatives. | Killed when their Jeep was struck by a missile. 8 bystanders including 2 children were wounded. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| September 27, 2004 | Damascus | Izz Eldine Subhi Sheik Khalil | Hamas senior official. A Gazan deported by Israel in 1992. | Blown up by a bomb hidden in his SUV when he answered a call on his mobile phone, triggering the explosion. Israel did not claim responsibility but Ariel Sharon's spokesman Raanin Gissin said:'Our longstanding policy has been that no terrorist will have any sanctuary and any immunity,' and Moshe Ya'alon commented that action should be adopted against "terror headquarters in Damascus" in the wake of the recent Beersheba bus bombings. | ||
| September 27, 2004 | Khan Yunis | Ali al-Shaeir | Popular Resistance Committee member | Killed while an Israeli helicopter gunship fired several missiles at a car in Abbassam, believed to hold their target, Muhammad Abu Nasira. The latter, with two others of the group sustained injuries, and al-Shair died. | Israeli helicopter strike | |
| October 6, 2004 | al-Shati refugee camp | Bashir Khalil al-Dabash, and Zarif Yousef al-'Are'ir | Head of Islamic Jihad's military wing, al-Quds Brigades. | Both killed by helicopter missile fired at their Subaru in 'Izziddin al-Qassam Street in downtown Gaza. Three passers-by were wounded. One of three operations in Operation Days of Penitence that killed 5 other Palestinian militants. | Israeli Air Force | |
| October 21, 2004 | Gaza City | Adnan al-Ghoul Imad al-Baas | 2nd in command of Hamas, and Qassem rocket expert. | Killed together with his aide Imad Abbas when their car was destroyed by a missile from an Apache helicopter. Four bystanders were wounded.. | Israeli Air Force | |
| July 15, 2005 | East of Salfit | Samer Abdulhadi Dawhqa, Mohammad Ahmed Salameh Mar'i, Mohammad Yusef 'Abd al-Fatah A’yash | Alleged to be 'ticking bombs'. | Killed in an olive grove, or, according to B'tselem, in a cave where two were hiding. The first two died immediately in a missile and gunfire strike by Apache helicopters. The third was taken to Ramallah in critical condition, but then seized by Israeli forces and taken off in a military ambulance. He died later, and neither he nor Mar'i, according to B'tselem, were involved in the fighting. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| July 16, 2005 | Khan Yunis | Saeed Seam . | Hamas commander of Izzedine al Qassam. Allegedly involved in killing two settlers in 2002 and shooting at an Israeli army outpost in 2004. | Shot dead by Israeli sniper in a targeted killing as he stood outside his Gaza home, as he was going to water his garden, in Khan Yunis. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| July 16, 2005 | Gaza City. | 'Four Unidentified' =Adel Mohammad Haniyya ; A'asem Marwan Abu Ras ; Saber Abu Aasi ; Amjad Anwar Arafat, one reportedly a nephew of Ismail Haniya. | Hamas operatives. | Apache helicopter struck a van carrying the men and numerous Qassam rockets in Gaza city. Five civilians, including a child, were wounded in the attack. | Israeli Air Force | |
| September 25, 2005 | Gaza City | Sheikh Mohammed Khalil | PIJ | Alleged to have been involved in Hatuel family's murder near the Gush Qatif settlement bloc. Killed when his Mercedes was struck by 5 missiles launched from an Israeli aircraft. | Israeli Air Force | |
| October 27, 2005 | Jabalia Camp | Shadi Mehana/Shadi Muhana | PIJ | Airstrike hitting car with four Palestinian militants north of Gaza City. Three civilians were also killed, including a 15-year-old boy and a 60-year-old man. One source stated 14 other Palestinians were wounded. | Israeli Air Force | |
| November 1, 2005 | Gaza City | Hassan Madhoun ; Fawzi Abu Kara | Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades | Allegedly planning an operation to strike the Eretz Crossing. Killed when his car was hit by an Israeli Apache helicopter missile. According to documents in the Palestine Papers Israel’s Shaul Mofaz had proposed to the PA that Fatah execute him. | Israeli Air Force | |
| December 7, 2005 | Rafah | Mahmoud Arkan. | Popular Resistance Committees field operative | Airborne missile strike on a moving car in a residential area. 10 bystanders, including three children, were injured. | Israeli Air Force | |
| December 8, 2005 | Iyad Nagar Ziyad Qaddas | Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades | Missile striking a house. A third militant, and several Palestinians nearby, including a young girl, suffered injuries. | Israeli Air Force | ||
| December 14, 2005 | Gaza City | Four Unidentified | Popular Resistance Committees | Missile strike on a white sedan near the Karni crossing. Israeli sources say the car was packed with explosives. Three PRC members killed, a fourth is thought to have been an al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades member. One occupant survived, and two bystanders were injured. | Israeli Air Force | |
| January 2, 2006 | East of Jabaliya | Sayid Abu-Gadian ; Akram Gadasas, third unknown. | PIJ | All three hit by IAF rocket while in a car close to a no-go zone declared by Israel in the northern Gaza Strip. Collateral damage, two bystanders were wounded. | Israeli Air Force | |
| February 5, 2006 | Zeitoun | Adnan Bustan; Jihad al-Sawafiri | Islamic Jihad in Palestine. Believed to have director of their engineering and manufacturing unit. | Killed when 2 cars fired on by an IAF missile, the second en route to a retaliatory attack for an earlier Israeli helicopter strike that killed three people. | Israeli Air Force | |
| February 6, 2006 | North of Jabalia Camp | Hassan 'Asfour ; Rami Hanouna | Hit and killed when their car was struck by three missiles from an Israeli drone. Three bystanders also wounded. | Israeli Air Force | ||
| February 7, 2006 | Gaza City | Mohammed Abu Shariya; Suheil Al Baqir | Al Aqsa Brigades | Their car was demolished by a missile. | Israeli Air Force | |
| March 6, 2006 | Gaza City | Munir Mahmed Sukhar ; Iyad Abu Shalouf | Islamic Jihad field operative. | Collateral damage, 3-8 passers-by wounded, including 17-year-old Ahmed Sousi, and an 8-year-old boy, both of whom later died. | Israeli Air Force | |
| May 20, 2006 | Gaza City | Mohammed Dahdoh | PIJ | Killed in car, held responsible for firing crude rockets into southern Israel. Palestinian version stated Muhanned Annen, 5; his mother, Amnah, 25; and Hannan Annen, 45, Muhanned's aunt, were collateral victims. Dahdoh was alone in the car. | Israeli Air Force | |
| May 25, 2006 | Sidon | Mahmoud al-Majzoub, Nidal al-Majzoub | Commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad; the brother was a member also. | Critically wounded in car bombing, when he turned on the ignition of his car, parked near the Abu Bakr mosque in Sidon,. He died the next day. Islamic Jihad blamed Israel, though Israel denied it. | An Israeli government spokesman denied knowledge of any Israeli involvement. | |
| June 5, 2006 | Jabalia Camp | Majdi Hamad ; Imad Assaliya | Popular Resistance Committees | Missile struck their car, targeting Hamad. Three bystanders were injured. | Israeli Air Force | |
| June 8, 2006 | Rafah | Jamal Abu Samhadana and three others | Founder of the Popular Resistance Committees militant group, a former Fatah and Tanzim member, and number two on Israel's list of wanted terrorists. Had survived 4 assassination attempts. Eyal Weizman states its purpose was to derail peace talks, as it coincided with a referendum vote on a political initiative by Mahmoud Abbas. | Killed by Israeli airstrike on a training camp, along with at least three other PRC members. | Israeli Air Force | |
| June 13, 2006 | Gaza City | Hamoud Wadiya; Shawki Sayklia | Wadiya was a PIJ rocket expert. | Three militants in a van with a Grad rocket were driving down a main street when a missile struck nearby. They fled but were killed by a second missile, as people gathered. The second blast killed 11 Palestinian bystanders, including Ashraf Mughrabi his son, Maher, and a relative Hisham, 4 ambulance drivers and hospital staff rushing to the incident, and three boys. Thirty-nine people were wounded. | Israeli Air Force | |
| July 4, 2006 | Beit Hanoun | Isamail Rateb Al-Masri | Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades | Killed by an IAF rocket. | Israeli Air Force | |
| August 9, 2006 | Jenin | Osama Attili ; Mohammed Atik | Described by Israel as leaders of PIJ | Killed when helicopter fired missiles into their house. PIJ leader Hussam Jaradat, another target escaped the strike, while his deputy Walid Ubeidi abu al-Kassam, was lightly wounded. | Israeli Air Force | |
| October 12, 2006 | 'Abasan al-Kabirah neighbourhood | Three unidentified='Abd a-Rahman 'Abdallah Muhammad Qdeih ; Na'el Fawzi Suliman Qdeih ; Salah Rashad Shehdeh Qdeih ; | Hamas | All three, armed, killed by a helicopter missile after one of the three fired at an IDF tank | Israeli Air Force | |
| October 12, 2006 | Khan Yunis | Three militants of Kadiah family. | Hamas | Five members of Kadiah family killed, two, Adel Kadiah, 40, and his son, Sohaib, 13, being civilians | Israeli Air Force | |
| October 12, 2006 | Gaza City | Ashraf Ferwana | Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades | Ashraf targeted in his home but he survived the drone missile strike which demolished his house. His brother Ayman Ferwana and a girl died, and 10 others injured. | Israeli Air Force | |
| October 14, 2006 | Jabalia Camp | Ahmad Hassan 'Abd al-Fatah Abu al-'Anin ; Sakher Faiz Muhammad Abu Jabal ; Rami 'Odeh Salem Abu Rashed ; Faiz 'Ali Fadel al-'Ur ; Suliman Hassan Fadel al-'Ur ; Muhammad Faiz Mustafa Shaqurah ; | Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades | Five killed while walking armed in the refugee camp, by a helicopter-launched missile.Awad Attatwa, not associated with group, also died. | Israeli Air Force | |
| October 14, 2006 | One Unidentified | Al Aqsa Brigades | Died when the car he was in was hit by a missile fired in an airstrike. A local commander also critically injured, and two bystanders wounded. | Israeli Air Force | ||
| November 7, 2006 | Al-Yamun | Salim Yousef Mahmoud Abu Al-Haija ; Ala'a Jamil Khamaisa ; Taher Abed Abahra ; Mahmoud Rajah Abu Hassan. | Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades | The four militants were shot while sitting near the Al-Yamun bakery, fled wounded and were killed in a local house. Aiman Suleiman Mahmoud Mustafa, a bakery worker came out to see what was happening and was shot dead. Salim Ahmed Awad, Ibrahim Mahmoud Nawahda, Salim Ahmed Awad and Mohammed Yousef Abu Al-Haija were also shot and taken prisoner. | Israel Defense Forces undercover squad. | |
| November 20, 2006 | Gaza City | Bassel Sha'aban Ubeid ; Abdel Qader Habib | Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades | Missile fired at a Mercedes containing both, parked outside the Ubeid family home. Collateral damage, 5 civilians, members of the Amen family, including Hanan Mohammed Amen, aged 3 months and Mo'men Hamdi Amen, injured by shrapnel. | Israeli Air Force | |
| May 17, 2007 | Gaza City | Imad Muhammad Ahmad Shabaneh | Hamas | Killed while travelling in a car hit by an Israeli helicopter missile. | Israeli helicopters | |
| June 1, 2007 | Khan Yunis | Fawzi Abu Mustafa | PIJ/Al Quds Brigades senior member | Killed by an IAF airforce missile while riding a motor bike. | Israeli Air Force | |
| June 24, 2007 | Gaza City | Hussein Khalil al-Hur=Hossam Khaled Harb Hussein Harb Peugeot | al-Quds Brigades local leader. | Struck by a missile while driving a Peugeot through Gaza City | Israeli Air Force | |
| October 23, 2007 | Gaza City | Mubarak al-Hassanat | Popular Resistance Committees head and Director of military affairs in the Hamas Interior Ministry. | Israeli airstrike on his car. | Israeli Air Force | |
| December 17, 2007 | Gaza City | Majed Harazin | PIJ. Senior Commander, West Bank, overseer of rocket operations. | Killed together with two others in his car, reportedly packed with explosives. | Israeli Air Force | |
| December 17, 2007 | Gaza City | Abdelkarim Dahdouh; Iman Al-Illa; Ahmad Dahdooh, Ammar al-Said; Jihad Zahar; Mohamman Karamsi | PIJ. | Missile strike from an aircraft on a car, combined with IDF undercover unit, on a PIJ cell preparing to launch rockets. | Israeli Air Force | |
| December 18, 2007 | Khan Yunis | Hani Barhoum; Mohammed A-Sharif | Hamas | Strike on a Hamas security position. | Israeli Air Force | |
| January 13, 2008 | Al-Shati Refugee Camp | Nidal Amudi; Mahir Mabhuh; third man unidentified | al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades Senior operative | The three were killed in a car driving through the refugee camp, struck by an IAF missile. | Israeli Air Force | |
| January 17, 2008 | Beit Lahiya | One unidentified =Raad Abu al-Ful and his wife. | PIJ rocket manufacturer | They were killed by an IAF airstrike which fired missiles at their car. | Israeli Air Force | |
| January 20, 2008 | Gaza City | Ahmad Abu Sharia | Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades Commander | Hit by an IAF missile as he walked in the streets. Two other Palestinians wounded. | Israeli Air Force | |
| February 4, 2008 | Gaza City | Abu Said Qarmout | Popular Resistance Committees member | Killed by an IAF missile that struck his car. Three others were wounded, two seriously. | Israeli Air Force | |
| April 14, 2008 | Ibrahim Abu Olba | DFLP | Israeli Air Force. | |||
| April 30, 2008 | Near Shabura refugee camp, Rafah | Nafez Mansour | Hamas | Killed in an IAF missile strike. Reportedly involved in Gilad Shalit abduction. Collateral damage. Three bystanders, one dying of his wounds. A further bystander and young girl also hurt. | Israeli Air Force/Shin Bet joint operation. | |
| June 17, 2008 | al-Qararah, Rafah district | Mu'taz Muhammad Jum'ah Dughmosh ; Musa Fawzi Salman al-'Adini ; Mahmoud Muhammad Hassan a-Shanadi ; Nidal Khaled Sa'id a-Sadudi Muhammad 'Amer Muhammad 'Asaliyah. | Army of Islam | Killed when their car was struck by an IAf missile. A further two people were wounded. | Israeli Air Force. | |
| August 1, 2008 | Tartus | Muhammad Suleiman | Syrian General. National Security Advisor. Presidential Advisor for Arms Procurement and Strategic Weapons. | Killed by sniper fire to the head and neck. Israel denied responsibility for the killing, but was widely suspected of involvement. According to an NSA intercept published by wikileaks, the NSA defined it as the ‘first known instance of Israel targeting a legitimate government official." | The U.S. Embassy in Damascus reported that Israelis were the 'most obvious suspect.' | |
| January 1, 2009 | Jabalia Camp | Nizar Rayan | Top level Senior Hamas leader. Professor of Sharia law, Islamic University of Gaza. Among first 5 top Hamas decision makers, and field operative. Advocated suicide bombings inside Israel. | His house destroyed by an IAF bomb. along with his 4 wives and 6 of his 14 children. 30 others in the vicinity were wounded. According to Israel, secondary explosions from weapons in the building caused collateral damage. Rayan was not the target, rather, the strike aimed to destroy Hamas' central compound which included several buildings that served as storage sites for weapons. Israel further stated that phone warnings were delivered to the residents. | Israeli Air Force | |
| January 3, 2009 | Gaza City | Abu Zakaria al-Jamal | Senior Hamas military wing commander of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and leader of Gaza City's rocket-launching squads | Killed in Israeli airstrike. | ||
| January 15, 2009 | Jabalia | Said Seyam | Hamas Interior Minister | Killed in Israeli airstrike with his brother, his son, and Hamas general security services officer. Salah Abu Shrakh. | Israeli Air Force | |
| January 26, 2009 | Bureij Refugee Camp | Issa Batran | Senior military commander of the Hamas military wing Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades | Targeted at his home. The attempt to assassinate him failed, but the shell hit the balcony of their home and killed his wife Manal Sha’rawi, and five of their children: Bilal, Izz Ad-Din, Ihsan, Islam and Eyman. Batran and his child Abdul-Hadi survived. | Israel Defense Forces | |
| March 4, 2009 | Khaled Shalan | Senior Operative PIJ | Killed in Israeli airstrike, together with 2/3 other militants, targeted after alleged involvement in rocket attacks on the Israeli city of Ashkelon. They jumped from their car but were critically wounded. 5 bystanders were also wounded. | Israeli Air Force |