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Here Are Some of the US-Designated Terrorists That Israel Has Eliminated Over the Past Year
Iraqi Shiite Muslim men from the Iran-backed group Kataib Hezbollah march in a Quds Day parade, in Baghdad, July 25, 2014. Photo: Reuters / Thaier al-Sudani.
In its fight against Iranian regime-backed terror groups in both Gaza and Lebanon, Israel is not only defending its own territory, citizens, and national interests — but it is also helping the United States and other Western nations that are threatened by the Islamic Republic and its proxies.
Since October 7, Israel has eliminated several top Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, who have been designated as terrorists by the US State Department, including some who have had American blood on their hands for more than 40 years.
The following is a list of these US-designated terrorists that Israel has eliminated since October 7, 2023:
Marwan Issa
Terror affiliation: Hamas
Date added to the US terrorism list: September 10, 2019
Date of death: March 11, 2024
Nicknamed “The Shadow Man,” Marwan Issa was the deputy head of Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, and was considered to be the third highest-ranking Hamas official in Gaza.
One of the earliest members of the Qassam Brigades, Issa was one of the key figures who helped develop it into a paramilitary organization, and he was also a central force behind many anti-Israel terror attacks since the late 1980s.
Issa is considered to be one of the central figures behind the planning of Hamas’ October 7 attack.
Ismail Haniyeh
Terror affiliation: Hamas
Date added to the US terrorism list: January 31, 2018
Date of death: July 31, 2024
Ismail Haniyeh was the political head of Hamas, having previously served as its head in Gaza (until 2017).
As head of the terror organization, Haniyeh played a role in the violent ouster of Fatah and the Palestinian Authority from the Gaza Strip in 2007.
Following the October 7 attack, Haniyeh both publicly celebrated the rampage, and justified it as an effective assault against the Jewish State.
Abu Anas Al-Ghandour
Terror affiliation: Hamas
Date added to the US terrorism list: April 6, 2017
Date of death: November 14, 2023
Abu Anas Al-Ghandour, also known as Ahmed Ghandour, was a senior member of Hamas, serving as the Qassam Brigades chief in northern Gaza and also as a member of the terror organization’s decision-making council.
Al-Ghandour was responsible for several terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and military personnel in both Gaza and the West Bank, including the 2006 kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
According to the IDF, Al-Ghandour was a “leading figure in the planning and execution of the October 7th massacre.”
Prior to the operational pause, IDF aircraft eliminated five senior Hamas commanders in Gaza:
· Ahmed Ghandour, Commander of Hamas’ Northern Gaza Brigade
· Aiman Siam, Head of Hamas’ Rockets Array
· Wael Rajeb, Deputy Commander of Hamas’ Northern Gaza Brigade
· Farsan Halifa,… pic.twitter.com/iter9OdBnX
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 27, 2023
Muhammed Deif
Terror affiliation: Hamas
Date added to the US terrorism list: September 8, 2015
Date of death: July 13, 2024
Considered to be the number two Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Muhammed Deif was head of the Qassam Brigades and is thought to be the mastermind behind the October 7 attack.
A prominent member of Hamas for decades, Deif spearheaded Hamas’ use of rockets and tunnels and was also implicated in many terror bombings against Israeli civilians during the 1990s and 2000s.
In the 2014 war between Israel and Hamas, Deif was responsible for firing rockets at Israel during humanitarian ceasefires, endangering both Israeli and Palestinian civilians.
Rawhi Mushtaha
Terror affiliation: Hamas
Date added to the US terrorism list: September 8, 2015
Date of death: July 2024
Considered to be the “de facto prime minister of Gaza,” Rawhi Mushtaha was the highest-ranking political leader of Hamas in Gaza, while also being involved in the terror organization’s violent activities.
An early leader of the Qassam Brigades, Mushtaha was sentenced to four life terms in Israeli prison for orchestrating terror attacks against the Jewish State, only to be released in 2011 during the Shalit deal.
Mushtaha was a close confidante of Yahya Sinwar, having served with him in Israeli prison and then co-founding Hamas’ internal security service together. This security service was responsible for the torture and killing of Palestinians suspected of cooperating with Israel.
Rawhi Mushtaha was one of the few Hamas leaders to be intimately involved in planning the October 7 attack on southern Israel.
Approximately 3 months ago, in a joint IDF and ISA strike in Gaza, the following terrorists were eliminated:
Rawhi Mushtaha, the Head of the Hamas government in Gaza
Sameh al-Siraj, who held the security portfolio on Hamas’ political bureau and Hamas’ Labor Committee
Sami… pic.twitter.com/6xpH6tOOot
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 3, 2024
Fu’ad Shukr
Terror affiliation: Hezbollah
Date added to the US terrorism list: September 10, 2019
Date of death: July 30, 2024
Fu’ad Shukr was one of Hezbollah’s most senior leaders, serving on its highest decision-making council and also directing its military operations.
One of the earliest members of the Lebanon-based terror group, Shukr helped coordinate attacks on foreigners in the 1980s, controlled the terror organization’s operations in southern Lebanon in the 1990s and 2000s, and was part of Hezbollah’s deployment to Syria in the 2010s to defend the Assad regime.
In his role as commander of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon during the 2000s, Shukr orchestrated a number of cross-border attacks against Israel, including the ambush and kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers in 2006 that precipitated the Second Lebanon War.
As a point man between Iran and Hezbollah, Shukr is largely credited with helping to expand Hezbollah’s arsenal into one of the largest controlled by a non-state actor.
In 2017, the US government offered a $5 million reward for information on Shukr’s whereabouts, for his role in the 1983 suicide bombing of the US Marine Barracks (which killed 241 American servicemembers) and French military barracks (which killed 58 French personnel).
Ibrahim Aqil
Terror affiliation: Hezbollah
Date added to the US terrorism list: September 10, 2019
Date of death: September 20, 2024
Similar to Fu’ad Shukr (who he replaced after the latter’s assassination), Ibrahim Aqil was an early member of Hezbollah who rose through the ranks to become a member of the terror group’s highest military body.
Through his 40-year career as a terrorist, Aqil had led Hezbollah’s foreign operations unit, was instrumental in providing Hezbollah’s support to the Assad regime during the Syrian civil war, and served as commander of the Radwan Forces (Hezbollah’s elite troops).
In the past few years, Aqil had been involved in several attacks across the Israel-Lebanon border, including the Megiddo Junction bombing in March 2023.
The United States offered a $7 million reward for Ibrahim Aqil’s whereabouts due to his involvement in anti-American terrorism in Lebanon in the 1980s, including the taking of American and German citizens as hostages, the 1983 US embassy bombing in Beirut (which killed 63 people), and the US Marines barracks bombing.
Ali Karaki
Terror affiliation: Hezbollah
Date added to the US terrorism list: September 10, 2019
Date of death: September 27, 2024
A member of Hezbollah’s highest military body, Ali Karaki (also known as Ali Karki), was commander of Hezbollah’s southern sector and was responsible for all of the terror group’s attacks that originated in southern Lebanon.
According to the Alma Research and Education Center, every anti-Israel attack since October 8 that originated in the south was either authorized by Karaki or directly coordinated with him.
After the assassination of Ibrahim Aqil, Karaki was chosen to be one of his successors.
Following a failed assassination attempt earlier that week, Ali Karaki was killed in the Israeli airstrike against Hezbollah’s secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah.
Hashem Safieddine
Terror affiliation: Hezbollah
Date added to the US terrorism list: May 19, 2017
Date of death: Presumed killed October 3, 2024
A relative of Hassan Nasrallah, Hashem Safieddine was presumed to be Nasrallah’s successor as secretary general of Hezbollah following the latter’s assassination by Israel.
During Nasrallah’s lifetime, Safieddine was considered to be the number two figure in Hezbollah’s hierarchy, serving as head of the terror organization’s executive council and as a member of its chief military body.
Safieddine also had close ties to Hezbollah’s backers in Iran, which even extended into his family life – his son is married to the daughter of Qassem Soleimani, the former head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, who was assassinated by the United States in 2020.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post Here Are Some of the US-Designated Terrorists That Israel Has Eliminated Over the Past Year first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Majority of French People Oppose Macron’s Push to Recognize a Palestinian State, New Survey Finds

French President Emmanuel Macron delivers the keynote address at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, May 30, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Edgar Su
Nearly 80 percent of French citizens oppose President Emmanuel Macron’s push to recognize a Palestinian state, according to a new study that underscores widespread public resistance to the controversial diplomatic initiative.
Last week, Macron announced the postponement of a United Nations conference aimed at advancing international recognition of a Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with no new date set.
The UN summit — originally scheduled for June 16–18 — was delayed after Israel launched a sweeping preemptive strike on Iran, targeting military installations and nuclear facilities in what officials said was an effort to neutralize an imminent nuclear threat.
Last month, Macron said that recognizing “Palestine” was “not only a moral duty but a political necessity.” The comments followed him saying in April that France was making plans to recognize a Palestinian state at a UN conference it would co-host with Saudi Arabia. Israeli and French Jewish leaders sharply criticized the announcement, describing the decision as a reward for terrorism and a “boost” for Hamas.
The French people largely seem to agree now is not the right time for such a move. A survey conducted by the French Institute of Public Opinion (IFOP) on behalf of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF), the main representative body of French Jews, found that 78 percent of respondents opposed a “hasty, immediate, and unconditional recognition of a Palestinian state.”
Sondage Crif x Ifop : “Le regard des Français sur la reconnaissance par la France de l’État palestinien”
Une large majorité de Français (78 %) s’oppose à une reconnaissance immédiate et sans condition de l’État palestinien. Parmi eux, près de la moitié (47 %) estiment qu’une… pic.twitter.com/AX9gP6eMLe
— CRIF (@Le_CRIF) June 17, 2025
France’s initiative comes after Spain, Norway, Ireland, and Slovenia officially recognized a Palestinian state last year, claiming that such a move would contribute to fostering a two-state solution and promote lasting peace in the region.
According to IFOP’s recent survey, however, nearly half of French people (47 percent) believe that recognition of a Palestinian state should only be considered after the release of the remaining hostages captured by Hamas during the Palestinian terrorist group’s invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, while 31 percent oppose any short-term recognition regardless of future developments.
The survey also reveals deep concerns about the consequences of such a premature recognition, with 51 percent of respondents fearing a resurgence of antisemitism in France and 50 percent believing it could strengthen Hamas’s position in the Middle East.
France has experienced an ongoing record surge in antisemitic incidents, including violent assaults, following Hamas’s Oct. 7 atrocities, amid the ensuing war in Gaza.
According to local media reports, France’s recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN conference was expected to be contingent on several conditions, including a truce in Gaza, the release of hostages held by Hamas, reforms within the Palestinian Authority (PA) — which is expected to take control from Hamas after the war — economic recovery, and the end of Hamas’s terrorist rule in the war-torn enclave.
The PA has not only been widely accused of corruption and condemned by the international community for its “pay-for-slay” program, which rewards terrorists and their families for attacks against Israelis, but also lacks public support among Palestinians, with only 40 percent supporting its return to govern the Gaza Strip after the war.
Out of the 27 total European Union member states, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Sweden have also recognized a Palestinian state.
Meanwhile, Germany, Portugal, and the UK have all stated that the time is not right for recognizing a Palestinian state.
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Jewish Leaders Plan ‘Emergency Mission’ to Washington, DC to Push US Gov’t for Antisemitism Protections

Thousands of participants and spectators are gathering along Fifth Avenue to express support for Israel during the 59th Annual Israel Day Parade in New York City, on June 2, 2024. Photo: Melissa Bender via Reuters Connect
Amid a record wave of antisemitic attacks and heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, leaders from nearly 100 Jewish communities and over 30 national organizations across the US will descend on Washington, DC next week for an “emergency mission” aimed at pressing the federal government to bolster protections for Jewish Americans and increase support for Israel.
The meeting will be organized by the Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. The two-day gathering scheduled for June 25–26 will convene representatives from groups representing approximately 7.5 million American Jews. Participants plan to meet with members of Congress and the Trump administration to demand “strong and aggressive action” to thwart a surge in antisemitic violence and rhetoric, according to a press release.
“We are facing an unprecedented situation in American Jewish history where every Jewish institution and event is a potential target for antisemitic violence,” said Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America. “This is domestic terrorism, plain and simple, and defeating this campaign of terror is the responsibility of government.”
The meeting comes on the heels of a string of attacks on Jewish and pro-Israeli targets in places such as Washington, DC, and Boulder, Colorado, and amid growing fears over Iran’s role in backing groups hostile to Israel. Organizers link the current wave of antisemitism to the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, in which over 1200 people were killed and 251 hostages were abducted.
In the 20 months since the Oct. 7 massacre, the United States has seen a dramatic surge in antisemitic incidents. According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), antisemitism in the US surged to break “all previous annual records” last year, with 9,354 antisemitic incidents recorded. These outrages included violent assaults, vandalism of Jewish schools and synagogues, harassment on college campuses, and threats against Jewish community centers.
Some Jewish institutions have reported being forced to hire private security or temporarily close their doors due to safety concerns. At universities nationwide, Jewish students and faculty have described feeling unsafe amid anti-Israel and pro-Hamas protests where some demonstrators have used antisemitic slogans or glorified violence.
“American Jews are not bystanders to global terror and domestic extremism. We are deliberate targets,” said William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents. “The federal government has a mandate to act.”
The delegation plans to advocate for a six-point policy agenda that includes expanding the federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program to $1 billion annually, providing financial support for security personnel at Jewish institutions, boosting FBI resources to combat extremism, and strengthening enforcement of hate crime laws. It will also push for more robust federal aid to local law enforcement and new regulations addressing online hate speech and incitement.
In addition to urging legislation, leaders say they intend to thank lawmakers who have consistently supported Jewish communities and the state of Israel, especially in light of the recent barrage of rockets launched at Israeli cities from Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups.
“The fight for Jewish security is not just domestic — it is global,” Daroff added. “The stakes have never been higher.”
The mission underscores growing concerns among Jewish Americans who say the dual threats of domestic extremism and rising international hostility toward Israel are converging in dangerous ways — and require a coordinated federal response.
The post Jewish Leaders Plan ‘Emergency Mission’ to Washington, DC to Push US Gov’t for Antisemitism Protections first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Columbia University Releases Campus Antisemitism Climate Survey

Pro-Hamas protesters at Columbia University on April 19, 2024. Photo: Melissa Bender via Reuters Connect
Columbia University’s Task Force on Antisemitism has released a “campus climate” survey which found that Jewish students remain exceedingly uncomfortable attending the institution.
According to the survey, 53 percent of Jewish students said they have been subjected to discrimination because of being Jewish, while another 53 percent reported that their friendships are “strained” because of how overwhelmingly anti-Zionist the student culture is. Meanwhile, 29 percent of Jewish students said they have “lost close friends,” and 59 percent, nearly two-thirds, of Jewish students sensed that they would be better off by electing to “conform their political beliefs” to those of their classmates.
Nearly 62 percent of Jewish students reported “a low feeling of acceptance at Columbia on the basis of their religious identity, and 50 percent said that the pro-Hamas encampments which capped off the 2023-2024 academic year had an “impact” on their daily routines.
Jewish students at Columbia were more likely than their peers to report these negative feelings and experiences, followed by Muslim students.
“As a proud alumna who has spent decades championing this institution, I found the results of this survey difficult to read,” acting Columbia University president Claire Shipman said in a statement. “They put the challenges we face in stark relief. The increase in horrific antisemitic violence in the US and across the globe in recent weeks and months serves as a constant, brutal reminder of the dangers of anti-Jewish bigotry, underscores the urgency with which all concerned citizens need to act in addressing it head-on, and the fact that antisemitism can and should be addressed as a unique form of hatred.”
Shipman added that university officials are “aware of the extent of the immense challenges faced by our Jewish students” and have enacted new policies which strengthen the process for reporting bias and prevent unauthorized demonstrations which upend the campus.
“I am confident we can change this painful dynamic. I know this because we share a commitment to protect all members of our community. We owe it to our students — and to each other,” she said.
Columbia University recently settled a lawsuit brought by a Jewish student at the School of Social Work (CSSW) who accused faculty of unrelenting antisemitic bullying and harassment.
According to court documents, Mackenzie “Macky” Forrest was abused by the faculty, one of whom callously denied her accommodations for sabbath observance and then held out the possibility of her attending class virtually during pro-Hamas protests, which according to several reports and first-hand accounts, made the campus unsafe for Jewish students. Her Jewishness and requests for arrangements which would allow her to complete her assignments created what the Lawfare Project described as a “pretext” for targeting Forrest and conspiring to expel her from the program, a plan that involved fabricating stories with the aim of smearing her as insubordinate.
Spurious accusations were allegedly made by one professor, Andre Ivanoff, who was the first to tell Forrest that her sabbath observance was a “problem.” Ivanoff implied that she had failed to meet standards of “behavioral performance” while administrators spread rumors that she had declined to take on key assignments, according to court documents. This snowballed into a threat: Forrest was allegedly told that she could either take an “F” in a field placement course or drop out, the only action that would prevent sullying her transcript with her failing grade.
Forrest left but has now settled the lawsuit she filed to get justice in terms that Columbia University has buried under a confidentiality agreement.
Columbia was one of the most hostile campuses for Jews employed by or enrolled in an institution of higher education. After Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the university produced several indelible examples of campus antisemitism, including a student who proclaimed that Zionist Jews deserve to be murdered and are lucky he is not doing so himself and administrative officials who, outraged at the notion that Jews organized to resist anti-Zionism, participated in a group chat in which each member took turns sharing antisemitic tropes that described Jews as privileged and grafting.
Amid these incidents, the university struggled to contain the anti-Zionist group Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), which in late January committed an act of infrastructural sabotage by flooding the toilets of the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) with concrete. Numerous reports indicate the attack may have been the premeditated result of planning sessions which took place many months ago at an event held by Alpha Delta Phi (ADP) — a literary society, according to the Washington Free Beacon. During the event, the Free Beacon reported, ADP distributed literature dedicated to “aspiring revolutionaries” who wish to commit seditious acts. Additionally, a presentation was given in which complete instructions for the exact kind of attack which struck Columbia were shared with students.
The university is reportedly restructuring itself to comply with conditions for restoring $400 million in federal funding canceled by US Education Secretary Linda McMahon in March to punish the school’s alleged failure to quell “antisemitic violence and harassment.”
In March, the university issued a memo announcing that it acceded to key demands put forth by the Trump administration as prerequisites for releasing the funds — including a review of undergraduate admissions practices that allegedly discriminate against qualified Jewish applicants, the enforcement of an “anti-mask” policy that protesters have violated to avoid being identified by law enforcement, and enhancements to the university’s security protocols that would facilitate the restoration of order when the campus is disturbed by pro-Hamas radicals and other agitators.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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