Israel's history of assassinations: full sound and fury, but what does it really signify?
The killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is the latest in a long line of covert assassinations by an Israeli government skilled at making geopolitical waves, even if the long-term impact is less certain


In a region already balancing on a knife's edge of tension and hostilities, last week's dual assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut by Israeli forces have threatened to engulf the broader Middle East in all-out war. Carried out within hours of one another, the dual killings — one via rocket strike, the other with a bomb planted months in advance — are just the latest in a long and storied line of Israeli cross-border assassinations against high-profile targets around the world. While the full history of Israel's targeted assassination program may never become fully public, the country's various clandestine agencies have for years been feared, revered, and reviled in equal measure for their skills at striking seemingly anyone, anywhere.
As demonstrated by last week's killings, however, the full impact of Israel's assassination operations is decidedly less certain. Although the country is clearly adept at these types of clandestine missions, the fact that it has perfected those skills for so long suggests a disconnect between its immediate tactical goals and its long-term needs. As the world waits to see how Hezbollah and Hamas will react to these latest killings, what has Israel's history of assassinations accomplished in the past? And is there any reason to think that things might be different this time around?
'Committed to settling accounts'
"For decades" Israel's message to potential foes has been "loud and clear: Hit us, and you will die," The Times of Israel said. It's a sentiment expressed most recently by government adviser Mark Regev, who pledged vengeance, whether "it takes a year or five years, or 25 years," during a CNN interview just days after the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. Anyone involved in harming the hostages taken into Gaza, "Israel will find them and there will be retribution." Israel is "committed to settling accounts," David Barnea, head of the Mossad Israeli secret service said in January, comparing any subsequent assassinations to the country's response to the "Munich massacre" after which Israeli forces killed members of the Black September terrorist group involved in the murder of Israeli athletes during the 1972 Olympics.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Those stated aims of retribution suggest goals tied as much to catharsis as they are about producing a tactical outcome. Studies have suggested that targeted killings "have no effect on insurgency violence in Palestine," said Indiana University Professor Jeff Gruenewald in 2017. Indeed, on occasion it can even be counterproductive to other national goals. Israeli efforts to assassinate Hamas figures behind the Oct. 7 attack are "likely complicating hostage and cease-fire negotiations," said David Meidan, a former top Mossad intelligence officer, to Politico earlier this year.
'Trying to change something in the moment'
"I believe very strongly that some targeted assassinations make more sense and some make no sense at all," said Matthew Levitt, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy think tank. The rocket attack on Hezbollah's Shukr "upsets their whole operational structure, because it affects the command and might inhibit further attacks in that sense in the longer term," whereas Haniyeh's death was "just supposed to say we're holding people accountable."
For all of Israel's high-profile assassinations across the past half century, "even after initially being hailed as a game-changing victory," the end result has largely been a "killed leader being replaced by someone more determined, adept and hawkish," Al Jazeera said. The killing of Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in 2004 resulted in the ascension of Khalid Meshal, a "more hawkish figure" who ultimately "took control of Hamas and moved the group closer to Iran." After multiple assassination attempts, Meshal "remains a senior figure in Hamas," The Washington Post said. Accordingly, there is "little reason to believe" that Israel's most recent attacks on Hamas and Hezbollah leadership will "make these groups less formidable foes to Israel," Al Jazeera concluded.
If none of these types of attacks will ultimately end groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, what is the point? Israel, per Levitt, is merely "trying to change something in the moment."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.
-
‘Mental health care is health care’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
6 Broadway shows coming to a local theater near you
The Week Recommends Harry Potter makes an appearance. As do the wives of Henry VIII.
-
Judge rejects top state charges in Mangione case
Speed Read If convicted, Mangione faces up to life in state prison
-
‘Mental health care is health care’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
UN panel finds Israeli genocide in Gaza
Speed Read The report found that Israeli leaders had committed ‘four of the five “genocidal acts”’ prohibited under the U.N. Genocide Convention
-
Democrats’ strategy to woo voters for 2026: religion
The Explainer Politicians like Rob Sand and James Talarico have made a name for themselves pushing their faith
-
Is Kash Patel’s fate sealed after Kirk shooting missteps?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The FBI’s bungled response in the immediate aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting has director Kash Patel in the hot seat
-
How Benjamin Netanyahu shaped Israel in his own image
The Explainer He has seldom been personally popular, but ‘King Bibi’ is an exceptionally shrewd operator
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro sentenced to 27 years for coup attempt
Speed Read Bolsonaro was convicted of attempting to stay in power following his 2022 election loss
-
Calls for both calm and consequences follow Kirk killing
TALKING POINTS The suspected assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk has some public figures pleading for restraint, while others agitate for violent reprisals
-
Why does Donald Trump keep showing up at major sporting events?
Today's Big Question Trump has appeared at the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500 and other events