Since launching its retaliatory war in Gaza, Israel claims to have eliminated the leaders of militant groups including, Sinwar, the mastermind of the 7 October attack on Israel, and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an airstrike on a building complex in Beirut.

Israel's defence minister has admitted that Israel killed Hamas's political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July. Israel has also vowed to target the heads of the Iran-backed Houthi movement.