The head of Hamas’s political wing, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in Iran, Hamas announced Wednesday. The group blamed Israel for the death and called it an assassination, but it was not immediately clear how Haniyeh was killed. The Israel Defense Forces declined to comment.
Israeli forces see the targeting of Hamas leaders as key to eliminating the group, even as experts warn that there’s no single figurehead whose death would serve as a knockout blow to the movement.
Israel has killed several high-ranking Hamas officials since the group attacked Israeli communities near the Gaza border in October, killing around 1,200 people. Some Hamas leaders live in Gaza, while others are scattered across the Middle East, in Lebanon, Qatar and Turkey.
Here are some of Hamas’s key figures — many of whom have been killed.
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