The year 2024 has emerged as a pivotal period in Middle Eastern history, characterised by persistent conflicts and casualties. Whilst some Gulf nations maintained stability, numerous regions experienced continuous bombardment.
Throughout this period, several influential figures were killed amidst ongoing hostilities.
The year has been marked by substantial turmoil featuring intensifying conflicts, humanitarian emergencies, and notable geopolitical shifts across the Middle East.Israeli military actions against Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran resulted in leadership casualties alongside substantial civilian, economic and military losses.
The conflict expanded as Israel advanced into Southern Lebanon, engaging with Hezbollah, raising concerns about broader regional warfare. Despite ceasefire efforts, continuous violations by all parties diminished hopes for regional stability.
Here are some of the prominent figures killed in 2024:
Hamas experienced significant leadership losses due to Israeli operations.
Since October 7, the Israel-Gaza conflict has become amongst the most severe in recent history. Both sides face devastating consequences, particularly in Gaza.
The violence, stemming from decades-long political disputes and territorial conflicts, has particularly affected Gaza. Israel, maintaining its position on self-defence, conducted extensive airstrikes targeting Hamas militants and leadership. Hamas and Palestinian groups retaliated, causing significant Israeli casualties. Despite international intervention and UN appeals for peace, lasting ceasefire agreements remain elusive.
The conflict has severely impacted regional socioeconomic stability, creating widespread displacement and humanitarian needs. Gaza’s neighbouring populations live under constant threat.
Hamas leadership hit hard
Yahya Sinwar
Yahya Sinwar is called to be one of the architects of the October 2023 attacks that killed around 1,200 people, captured 250 hostages and put him atop Israel’s kill list. He was being tracked by Israel and the United States for over a year.
In October 2024, Israel claimed that they had killed Sinwar during a military operation in the Southern Gaza Strip. According to a report from the New York Times, it was a routine patrol that unexpectedly located Sinwar. During the operation, the Israeli trainee squad commanders engaged in a firefight with militants, killing three, including Sinwar. They discovered a body in a partially collapsed building with distinctive features like moles and crooked teeth.
Hamas also acknowledged his death, with his deputy Khalil al-Hayya on Hamas television saying Sinwar “died fighting the occupation army.” Sinwar rose to the helm after emerging from two decades of prison in Israel. He was known for blending cunning and brutality to bolster its fight against Israel with the aim of replacing the Jewish state with an Islamist Palestinian state.
Ismail Haniyeh
Earlier in July this year, Israel killed Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, 62, in Tehran. It is noteworthy that, Haniyeh was designated a “terrorist” by the US in 2018. Israel targeted Haniyeh when he was in Iran to attend the presidential swearing-in ceremony. Photos and videos of Israel’s attack on Haniyeh made several rounds on social media. He was a prominent figure in Hamas, who rose from a Gaza refugee camp to lead the group. He is known for his crucial role in shaping the political and military strategies of Hamas.
Haniyeh was known as a pragmatist within Palestinian groups. His life was marked by imprisonment in Israel, exile and personal loss. According to reports, amid ongoing conflict with Israel, he lost three of his children and several grandchildren in Gaza in April 2024. Haniyeh’s death led to the expansion of conflict between Israel and Iran.
After Haniyeh’s killing, Iran condemned the Israeli attack and responded angrily. Tehran asserted that it would defend its territorial integrity and dignity.
Taking to X, Iran’s supreme leader Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei’s office said, “In the wake of the martyrdom of the great Mujahid Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, Imam Khamenei extended his condolences for the martyrdom of this courageous leader.”
Mohammed Deif
On August 21, highlighting an airstrike conducted on July 13, Israel claimed that it killed the military commander of Hamas, Mohammed Deif. Along with Deif, at least 90 people were killed and 300 others were injured in the strike that hit southern Gaza’s Mawasi. After Israel’s claim over Dief death, Hamas declined it, however, IDF asserted that it had evidence confirming the killing of Deif.
Deif, born in 1965 in a refugee camp, is known to be a key figure behind the October 7 attack against Israel.
Saleh al-Arouri
One of Israel’s strikes in January this year claimed the life of Saleh al-Arouri, 57. The drone strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs of Dahiyeh targeted a Hamas office and left six others dead. He was the deputy chief of Hamas’s political bureau and a founder of Qassam Brigades. According to news reports, he spent around 15 years in an Israeli prison and also lived in exile in Lebanon.
He was known for his role in Hamas’s military operations. After the Oct 7 attack, Israel threatened to assassinate him. Earlier in 2015, the US labelled him a “global terrorist” offering a $5 million reward for information on his whereabouts.
After Al-Arouri’s death, Hamas condemned Israel calling the killing of its leader a “cowardly assassination”. Hamas vowed that such actions would not break their resistance.
Hassan Nasrallah
Israel’s other attack made headlines when its forces killed Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike near Beirut on September 27. Under the 64-year-old’s leadership, Lebanon’s Hezbollah emerged as a powerful force both politically and militarily. Hezbollah’s bond with Iran also took shape under his leadership with the expansion of the group’s influence in the region. He maintained a top position in Hezbollah as secretary-general for over three decades.
According to reports, he aided allies like Syria’s Bashar Assad and trained militias in Iraq and Yemen. He was known for his fiery rhetoric and calls for Israel’s destruction. He rarely appeared publicly and maintained extraordinary security measures after the 2006 war with Israel.
Hashem Safieddine
With a significant turn, several severe attacks and counter-counters also took place between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel Defence Forces on October 22 claimed that it had killed Hezbollah’s second-in-command Hashem Safieddine, in southern Beirut. A day later, Hamas confirmed his death.
Safieddine was a key figure in Hezbollah and was expected to succeed the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
He was known for his active role in the group’s military and social programs as head of Hezbollah’s executive council and member of its Shura and Jihad councils. Safieddine also helped the group in extending ties with Iran. His death left Hezbollah’s leadership uncertain, especially after the killing of another contender, Nabil Kaouk.
