Spotlight on Terrorism – March 2026

Hezbollah

• On the night of March 1, 2026, Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel from Lebanon for the first time since the ceasefire of November 27, 2024 (IDF spokesperson and Israeli media, March 2, 2026). Hezbollah claimed it had attacked the missile defense base Mishmar HaCarmel south of the “occupied city of Haifa” with a barrage of missiles and a swarm of UAVs in response to killing Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, in defense of Lebanon and the people and in response to the [so-called] ongoing Israeli “aggression.” Hezbollah added that according to the “resistance”^[3] leadership, the continuation of the “aggression” and the killing of leaders, youth and residents gave it the “right” to “self-defense” and to respond when and where it chose, claiming the rocket attacks were a “legitimate defensive response” (Hezbollah combat information Telegram channel, March 2, 2026).
• On the night of March 2, 2026, Hezbollah announced it would continue attacking Israel (Hezbollah combat information Telegram channel, March 3, 2026). From then until the end of March 2026, the organization issued 1,137 claims of responsibility for attacks on military, security and civilian targets in Israel and on IDF forces in south Lebanon. Hezbollah used UAVs, rockets and missiles (without specifying the types of rockets or missiles), anti-tank missiles, artillery shells and anti-aircraft fire, and exchanged fire with IDF forces in south Lebanon, some of the attacks carried out simultaneously with missile launches from Iran (Hezbollah combat information Telegram channel, March 3-31, 2026). A significant portion of the statements have no official verification from the IDF spokesperson or confirmation on the ground, such as claims of fire into the Israeli heartland.

• The IDF attacked more than 3,500 terrorist targets from the air and ground in Lebanon, mainly in the south, the Beqa’a Valley and the Dahiyeh al-Janoubia in Beirut. The targets included Hezbollah terrorist commanders and operatives, headquarters, weapons warehouses, launch positions and launchers, financial assets, including buildings of the al-Qard al-Hassan association and fuel stations of the al-Amana company, and bridges over the Litani River used by Hezbollah to transfer weapons and operatives to the south. IDF forces also carried out extensive ground activity in south Lebanon and raids to establish the forward defense area in order to prevent Hezbollah activity near the border with Israel and to distance the organization’s capability to attack northern Israeli communities (IDF spokesperson, March 2-31 and April 3, 2026). Three Israeli civilians and ten IDF soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the campaign.
• Throughout March 2026, Hezbollah did not reveal the names of senior figures and operatives who were killed in IDF strikes, apparently due to the high numbers of fatalities. However, two sources familiar with the data said that more than 400 of the organization’s operatives had been killed since the beginning of the hostilities on March 2, 2026 (Reuters, March 27, 2026). Meanwhile, social media accounts, including unofficial accounts affiliated with Hezbollah, posted pictures of more than 700 commanders of various ranks and operatives, including fighters in the Radwan Force (X account of Qalaat al Mudiq, Telegram Channel of Hezbollah in the Field, the Facebook page South Lebanon, March 2-31, 2026). According to the IDF, at least 1,000 Hezbollah operatives have been eliminated since the beginning of the war (IDF spokesperson, March 2-31, 2026):
  • On March 2, Hussein Maklad, head of Hezbollah intelligence, was eliminated in a strike in Beirut. He held a series of intelligence positions and was appointed as head after his predecessor, Hussein Ali Hazimeh, was eliminated in October 2024. Maklad was responsible for the intelligence picture of IDF forces and the State of Israel, gathered through the use of various tools.

• • On March 4, Zaid Ali Jumaa, head of Hezbollah firepower management and artillery chief in south Lebanon, was eliminated in a strike in Beirut. He had been responsible for firing of thousands of rockets and launching missiles and UAVs at the State of Israel from Lebanese territory. He held several key positions in the organization and had participated in the fighting in Syria alongside the Assad regime. He had also commanded the al-Khiam sector and led the attack in which two IDF soldiers were killed by anti-tank missile fire in Mount Dov in January 2015.
  • On March 7, Abu Ali Rayan, commander of the south Lebanon sector in the Radwan Force, was eliminated in a strike in Harouf in south Lebanon.
  • On March 8, Hassan Salameh, commander of Hezbollah’s Nasr Unit, was eliminated in a strike in Joya in south Lebanon.^[4] He was a long-standing member of the organization and held a series of positions, including commander of the al-Khiam sector and deputy commander of operations in the Nasr Unit. He assumed command of the unit after the elimination of his predecessor, Taleb Sami Abdallah (Abu Taleb), in June 2024.^[5] A death notice was issued on Hezbollah-affiliated websites for “jihadist commander” and commander of the Nasr Unit, Hajj Ramadan Hassan Salameh, aka Abu Hussein Raghib, born in 1967 from the town of Baraachit in south Lebanon (Telegram channel of Hezbollah in the Field, March 15, 2026).

• • On March 8, Mustafa Ahmed al-Zein, a Hezbollah operative who was affiliated with operatives in the Iranian Qods Force, was eliminated in a strike in the Beqa’a Valley. He had lived in Iran in recent years and from there assisted in promoting terrorist activity against the State of Israel.
  • On March 12, Rahif Ali Qassem, commander of the missile and rocket array in Hezbollah’s Badr Unit, and Muhammad Baqer Ahmed Ali Maliki, rocket and missile fire control commander in the unit, were eliminated in a strike north of the Litani River.
  • On March 21, Abu Khalil Barji, commander of the special Radwan Forces, was eliminated in a strike in Majdal Selm in south Lebanon. Hezbollah-affiliated websites issued death notices for the “heroic shaheed,” Hussein Moussa Barji, aka Abu Khalil. His brother, senior Hezbollah operative Ibrahim Barji, was killed in clashes between Hezbollah and its political rivals in May 2008. One of Barji’s sons was killed in the previous war against Israel in 2024 and two other sons were killed in the current war (Telegram channel of Muntasirun [“the victorious”], March 21, 2026; al-Siyasi, March 22, 2026).

• • On March 25, Hassan Muhammad Bashir, a senior commander in Hezbollah’s anti-tank array, was eliminated in a strike in Kafr Houneh in south Lebanon. Reportedly, Bashir had begun to integrate into the anti-tank array north of the Litani River and trained terrorists in anti-tank warfare.
  • On March 27, Ayyoub Hussein Yaacoub, a senior figure in Hezbollah’s communications unit, was eliminated in a strike in Beirut. Previously, he had held a senior position in the missile unit and was a central figure in rocket and missile fire control and in directing the fire and launches at the State of Israel throughout Operation Northern Arrows in 2024. He also dealt with force buildup and the strengthening of the missile unit. Yasser Muhammad Mubarak, another senior figure in the communications unit who was an operative in the missile unit, was also eliminated in the attack.
  • On March 28, al-Manar correspondent Ali Shoeib was eliminated in a strike in the town of Jezzine in south Lebanon. He was also an operative in the Radwan Force’s intelligence unit. According to the IDF, he had cooperated with Hezbollah since 2013 and was officially recruited in 2020. He exploited his cover as a journalist to expose the locations of IDF forces operating in south Lebanon and along the border line and to pass the information to the Radwan Force. Shoeib promoted incitement against IDF forces and Israeli civilians while spreading Hezbollah propaganda. Al-Manar reported the death of Ali Hassan Shoeb, a “professional journalist” at al-Manar TV and al-Nour Radio, who “fought the Zionists” with image, voice and word. He covered many events even before the IDF withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000, during the Second Lebanon War in July 2006 and the war in 2024 and the current hostilities, and covered events in Syria and Iraq (al-Manar, March 28, 2026). The Hezbollah combat information Telegram channel issued a death notice for the “hero” Ali Hassan Shoeib, and for the deaths of al-Mayadeen correspondent Fatma Fatouni and her brother, press photographer Muhammad Fatouni, who were also killed in the attack (Hezbollah combat information Telegram channel, March 28, 2026). Hezbollah condemned their deaths and claimed they had been killed while carrying out their “media and national duty” and their “noble mission of conveying the truth” (al-Akhbar, March 28, 2026).

     
Right: Death notice for Ali Shoeib (Balagh Telegram channel, March 28, 2026).
Left: Ali Shoeib reporting near an Israeli tank (al-Akhbar, March 28, 2026)

• • On March 30, Hajj Youssef Isma’il Hashem, commander of Hezbollah’s southern front, was eliminated in a strike in Beirut. He had been a Hezbollah operative for more than 40 years and took command of the southern front after his predecessor, Ali Karaki, was killed in the same strike as Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah in September 2024. He commanded rocket fire and UAV launches at Israeli territory and led Hezbollah’s reconstruction and rearming in south Lebanon. In the past he was responsible for Hezbollah’s regional Nasr, Aziz and Badr Units in south Lebanon. Hezbollah-affiliated websites issued death notices for the “great jihadist commander,” Youssef Isma’il Hashem, aka al-Sayyid Sadeq. They noted that he had “a long history of giving, sacrifice and jihad, and since the beginning of the ‘resistance’ had been present in various battlefields.” He was called a “prominent figure” in the Islamic resistance in Lebanon^[6] and contributed to its [alleged] victories (Telegram channel of South Lebanon, Watching the Enemy, April 1, 2026). After his death it was revealed that he had been responsible for the Iraq file, first after the American withdrawal in 2011 and then during the fight against ISIS in 2017, and had directed the transfer of knowledge, training and advisors to the pro-Iranian Shi’ite militias, chiefly the Hezbollah Brigades and Harakat al-Nujaba’ (X account of Mirza Um Jihad, April 2, 2026). He fought alongside the Assad regime in the Syrian Civil War and advanced Iranian activity in the east of the country, and was behind the disappearance of 192 people from the Abukamal area after they    were abducted by the Shi’ite militias in 2017 (X account of Zain al-Abidin, April 1, 2026).

• • On March 30, Hamza Ibrahim Rakin, deputy commander of Unit 1800, coordinates between Hezbollah and the Palestinian terrorist organizations, was eliminated in a strike in Beirut. He also commanded the transfer of terrorists from the Palestinian organizations to fight against IDF forces in south Lebanon. The head of operations in Unit 1800 and another unit operative were also eliminated in the attack.

Fatalities from Other Organizations

• The IDF also attacked other terrorist organizations operating against Israel from Lebanon.

The Qods Force

• On March 2, the IDF eliminated Reza Khazaei, chief of staff of the Lebanon Corps of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Qods Force, who led Hezbollah’s military buildup on behalf of the force. Khazaei was right-hand man to the corps commander, Davoud Alizadeh, who was eliminated in Tehran a day later, and considered a key figure in Hezbollah’s military buildup. He was liaised between Hezbollah and Iran and mediated between Hezbollah’s needs and the resources supplied by Iran. He was in charge of replenishing the organization’s Iranian-made arsenal and equipment and its reconstruction efforts after Operation Northern Arrows in 2024. He helped establish the routes for transferring weapons from Iran to Lebanon and accompanied Hezbollah’s weapons production plans in Lebanon (IDF spokesperson, March 2, 2026).
• Before dawn on March 8, in a targeted strike on the Ramada Hotel in Beirut, the IDF eliminated five commanders in the Qods Force’s Lebanon Corps and Palestine Corps: Majid Hosseini, responsible for transferring funds to the regime’s proxies in Lebanon for financing Hezbollah, Hamas and other terrorist bodies operating from Lebanon and for financing and manufacturing weapons to advance Hezbollah’s military military activity; Ali Reza Bi-Azar, commander of the intelligence branch of the Lebanon Corps, and who gathered intelligence for Hezbollah; Ahmad Rasouli, intelligence officer in the Qods Force’s Palestine Corps, responsible for collecting intelligence for the Palestinian terrorist organizations in Lebanon and in the Gaza Strip; Hossein Ahmadlou, an intelligence operative who gathered intelligence on the State of Israel for terrorist purposes; Abu Muhammad Ali, Hezbollah representative in the Palestine Corps and responsible for the organization’s routine contact with the Corps (IDF spokesperson, March 8, 2026).
• Writing to the UN secretary general, Iran’s permanent representative to the UN claimed that the Israeli strike killed four Iranian diplomats in the embassy in Lebanon: Majid Hasani Kandasar, Alireza Bi-Azar, Hossein Ahmadlou and Ahmad Rasouli (Fars Agency, March 10, 2026). However, pictures of six attack fatalities were later seen in Iranian publications, reportedly all members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps: Muhammad Reza Mousavi, Alireza Bi-Azar, Majid Hasani Kandasar, Hossein Ahmadlou, Ahmad Rasouli and Amir Moradi (Tasnim, Fars

     
Right: Qods Force figures eliminated since the beginning of the war (IDF spokesperson, March 8, 2026). Left: Six Qods Force operatives eliminated in the strike in Beirut (Radio Farda, March 28, 2026)

• On March 10, Abu Dharr Mohammadi, an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander who operated in Hezbollah’s missile unit, was eliminated. He played a central role in the military coordination between Iran and Hezbollah and was a key figure in Hezbollah’s military missile buildup, especially after Operation Northern Arrows in 2024. He was an influential source of knowledge regarding Hezbollah’s strategic weapons and led the missile arm’s activities. He directed missile launches at the State of Israel in the fighting in September-November 2024 and in the current hostilities (IDF spokesperson, March 12, 2026).
• On March 11, Hisham Abd al-Karim Yassin, a commander in Hezbollah’s communications unit and in the Qods Force’s Palestine Corps, was eliminated in a strike in the village of Aramoun in the Chouf Mountains. He was responsible for Hezbollah’s military buildup and for rehabilitating its capabilities after Operation Northern Arrows. He also promoted Iranian entrenchment in Lebanon and advanced terrorist activity under Iranian direction (IDF spokesperson, March 14, 2026).
• On March 23, Muhammad Ali Kourani, a Qods Force operative who advanced terrorist activity under the direction of Iranian intelligence, was eliminated in a strike in Hazmieh in the Beirut area.
• The IDF also eliminated senior Qods Force operatives responsible for the connection with Hezbollah in the strikes carried out in Iran in the Second Iran-Israel War (Operation Lion’s Roar):
  • On March 3, Davoud Alizadeh was eliminated. He had headed the Qods Force’s Lebanon Corps since the elimination of his predecessor, Hassan Mahdavi, in a strike in Syria in April 2024. He was the most senior commander in Iranian activity in Lebanon and liaised between the Qods Force and the Hezbollah leadership. He had previously filled several roles, among them commander of the Qods Force’s Strategic Weapons Corps, and had managed Hezbollah’s military buildup. He was knowledgeable regarding Hezbollah’s attacks capabilities and those of other proxies, and was involved in Hezbollah’s reconstruction, learning lessons for managing terrorist activity against Israel (IDF spokesperson, March 3, 2026).

• • On March 30, Mahallat Mahdi Vafaei, head of the engineering branch in the Qods Force’s Lebanon Corps, was eliminated in a strike. He had held the position for 20 years, and advanced below-ground projects in Lebanese and Syrian territory and managed dozens of below-ground projects used by Hezbollah to store weapons (IDF spokesperson, April 1, 2026).

The Imam Hussein Division^[7]

• On March 12, Ali Muslim Tabaja was eliminated. He had commanded the division since the elimination of the previous commander, Dhu al-Fiqar Hannawi, in October 2024. Tabaja enlisted in Hezbollah and over the years held a series of military positions in Hezbollah and in the Imam Hussein Division. He was also involved in Hezbollah’s reconstruction and maintained continuous and close contact with senior figures in the “resistance axis”^[8] and with Iranian elements. The attack also eliminated the deputy commander of the division, Jihad al-Safira, the division’s UAVs officer, Sajed al-Handasa, and others (Hamas spokesperson, March 12, 2026).

Hamas-Lebanon

• On March 5, an IDF a strike in the Badawi refugee camp in Tripoli in north Lebanon eliminated Wasim Atallah Ali, in charge of training and exercises in Hamas in Lebanon. According to reports, he promoted terrorist attacks targeting Israeli civilians (IDF spokesperson, March 5, 2026).
• On March 18, Hamas announced that Walid Muhammad Dhib, aka Abu Khaled, a member of the department of national relations in Hamas “abroad,” was killed in an “occupation” strike in Sidon. Ali Baraka, head of the national relations department, said Dhib was known for his dedication to his people and the “cause” and operated in “national work and community information,” acting with “a deep sense of responsibility to strengthen Palestinian unity and serve the people everywhere” (Telegram channel of Hamas, March 18, 2026). The IDF spokesperson confirmed that Walid Muhammad Dhib was eliminated. He was a senior figure in the Hamas financial array and worked to fund the movement’s military activity in Lebanon. He was responsible for money transfers to various Hamas departments in Judea, Samaria, Lebanon in other countries, and for recruiting operatives and directing terrorist activity from Syria and Lebanon (IDF spokesperson, March 22, 2026).

• On March 19, Hamas reported that “commander” Ahmed Hamdan Abdallah, aka Abu al-Harith, died of his wounds after being critically wounded in an Israeli strike in Beirut several days earlier and was buried in Sidon (X account of Yasser Ali, March 19, 2026). The Hamas military wing also reported the death of Ahmed Hamdan Abdallah, aka al-Hajj Iyad, who died after being wounded in the strike on March 11, adding that he had a long history of confrontation with the “Zionist enemy” and had dedicated his life to “jihad in the path of Allah” (Telegram channel of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, March 19, 2026). Reportedly, in the past he had fought in Afghanistan and Chechnya and had received military training in Iran. He was based in Lebanon and operated the office responsible for military activity in Judea and Samaria along with Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of the Hamas political bureau and Hamas leader in Judea and Samaria, and Azzam al-Aqra, who was responsible for Hamas activity abroad (both eliminated in January 2024), and was in contact with the leaders of the Hamas military wing in the Gaza Strip. In addition, he published articles and commentaries on “resistance” issues,^[9] military tactics and security assessments under the pen name Abdallah Amin (X account of Muhammad al-Najjar, March 19, 2026; Telegram channel al-Siyad, March 20, 2026).

     
Right: Death notice issued by Hamas in Lebanon for Abdallah (X account of Yasser Ali, March 19, 2026). Left: Hamas military wing death notice (Quds Agency, March 19, 2026)

Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) Lebanon

• On March 2, in a strike in Beirut, the IDF eliminated Adham Adnan al-Othman, commander of PIJ’s military wing in the Lebanon arena. He held the position for several years and was responsible for orchestrating hundreds of terrorist attacks on IDF forces and Israeli civilians, and trained nukhba terrorists, recruited terrorists and acquired weapons for the organization. During Operation Northern Arrows in Lebanon, September-November 2024, he managed the transfer of the organization’s operatives across the Syria-Lebanon border and their activity against IDF forces in south Lebanon (IDF spokesperson, March 2, 2026). The PIJ’s military wing confirmed the death of “commander” Adham Adnan al-Othman, aka Abu Hamza, 41 years old, killed in an attack in the Dahiyeh al-Janoubia in Beirut. The wing mourned the “esteemed commander” but pledged that thousands of fighters would avenge him (Telegram channel of Saraya al-Quds, March 2, 2026).

Amal

• During March 2026, Amal announced the deaths of at least 28 of its operatives, including medics and operatives in its scout movement, in IDF strikes since the beginning of the new hostilities. None of the fatalities was described as a jihad fighter killed in combat, but in official publications some of them appeared in uniform. One was Sheikh Hassan Ghandour, head of the department for Muslim clerics in the southern district of the Amal movement and imam of the town of Nabatieh al-Fawqa (Telegram channel of the Amal movement and the X account of Amal’s central information office, March 1-31, 2026).

The IDF

• During March 2026, IDF forces continued activity within the Yellow Line, the territory under IDF control, in the Gaza Strip, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement. The forces eliminated terrorists who crossed the Yellow Line or posed a threat and carried out strikes and targeted eliminations in response to attacks on IDF forces and ceasefire violations, and intentions to carry out attacks, destroying, weapons and tunnels located within the Yellow Line. The IDF forces prevented weapons from being smuggled into Gaza by UAV across the Egyptian border (IDF spokesperson, March 1-31 2026). Implementation of the second stage of the ceasefire agreement was delayed by the war with Iran, and Hamas exploited the situation to tighten its security and civilian governance in the areas under its control.^[10]
• Eliminations during March 2026:

• • On March 7, Ahmed Muhammad al-Qidra, an engineer, 34 years old, was killed by an Israeli UAV in central Khan Yunis (Safa Agency and al-Quds, March 7, 2026). He was reportedly an engineers in the military production of the Hamas military wing (al-Sharq al-Awsat, March 7, 2026).
  • On March 8, the IDF attacked two Hamas snipers planning to attack IDF forces in the northern Strip in the immediate future (IDF spokesperson, March 8, 2026). Sources on the ground said a UAV struck a group of Palestinians in the al-Katiba area west of Gaza City, killing three operatives in the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades. The primary target was Nael al-Barawi, a company commander in the Asqalan (Ashqelon) Battalion of the Hamas military wing in Beit Lahia. He and two members of the company council were killed, and a fourth operative was critically wounded (al-Sharq al-Awsat, March 9, 2026). Reportedly, in an attack on a vehicle in west Gaza City, “commander ” Nael al-Barawi, aka Abu Bassam, was killed, as were Muhammad Mustafa Abu Shadaq, a medic, and Muhammad Husni Hamdouna (Telegram channels of journalist Hani Abu Rizq, Quds Agency and Fatah media and Reuters Arabic, March 8, 2026).

• • On March 15, a cell of armed Hamas terrorists planning to an attack an IDF forces was struck. The attack reportedly eliminated nukhba operatives Rami Ibrahim Harb and Mus’ab Ziyad Dira, who participated in the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack and massacre. Tawfiq Khaldi of Hamas and Abd Muhammad Amsi of the Popular Resistance Committees were also eliminated (IDF spokesperson, March 16, 2026). The ministry of health in Gaza reported nine killed and 14 wounded in an airstrike on a police vehicle on Salah al-Din Street near the entrance to the town of al-Zawayda in the central Gaza Strip. Hamas interior and national security reported that the fatalities were police officers and operatives: colonel Iyad Tawfiq Abu Youssef, commander of the intervention police and order maintenance police in the central district; first lieutenant Abd al-Rahman Munir al-Amsi; first lieutenant Rami Ibrahim Harb; lieutenant Youssef Muhammad Mustafa; soldier Abdallah Hussam Badwan; soldier Wissam Akram al-Hafi; soldier Fathi Rafat Aweida; adjutant Mus’ab Ziyad al-Dira; adjutant Azmi al-Khaldi. According to the ministry, they were attacked while monitoring the markets and maintaining security and order during the month of Ramadan (al-Risalah, March 15, 2026). The IDF announced the death of Abu Youssef in September 2025, and stated that he was deputy commander of the Hamas naval police.^[11]

     
Right: The four eliminated terrorists (IDF spokesperson, March 16, 2026). Left: Pictures of eight of the dead, top row, left to right: Abu Youssef, al-Amsi, Harb, Mit. Bottom row, left to right: Badwan, Aweida, al-Dira, al-Khaldi (X account of Qadeyah1, March 15, 2026)

• • On March 15, the IDF eliminated Kamal Ayash, a commander in the Hamas anti-tank missile corps in the Gaza Strip. The corps is responsible for supplying weapons for terrorist attacks on IDF forces and the State of Israel. He was eliminated in response to a ceasefire violation after an armed Hamas operative shot at IDF forces the previous day (IDF spokesperson, March 16, 2026). Kamal Abd al-Nasser Ayash, aka Abu Ahmed, was reportedly killed in a strike on his home in the al-Sawarha area in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip (Shehab Agency and Quds Agency, March 16, 2026).

• • On March 16, Younes Muhammad Hussein Alyan, commander of the northern Gaza Strip brigade of the Hamas naval array, was eliminated. He was responsible for operating the brigade’s naval forces, its military buildup, and commanding the unit’s training and instruction and the management of weapon readiness. He worked to reconstruct the brigade’s military capabilities and planned terrorist attacks on IDF forces operating in the Strip and on Israeli territory in the immediate future (IDF spokesperson, March 17, 2026).

• • On March 17, Yahya Abu-Labda, a commander in the Hamas supply department, was eliminated. He was responsible for purchasing and transporting military equipment and weapons for the Hamas military wing. He obtained dozens of tons of raw materials for rocket production and advanced electronic components for Hamas’ military production, equipment which was used in the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre (IDF spokesperson, March 18, 2023). He was reportedly killed with two others in a strike on a vehicle on Street No. 5 in the Mawasi of Khan Yunis; 14 people were wounded (Shehab Agency, March 17, 2026).

• • On March 18, Muhammad Abu Shahla, military intelligence commander in the Khan Yunis brigade of the Hamas military wing, was eliminated. During the war he was the brigade intelligence officer and participated in planning the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre within the brigade. He helped reconstruct Hamas’ military capabilities and planned terrorist activity against IDF forces operating in the Strip and against the State of Israel (IDF spokesperson, March 19, 2026). He was reportedly killed and several others were wounded in a strike in the Ard al-Basal area near al-Aqsa University in Khan Yunis (Telegram channel of journalist Isma’il Abu Omar, March 18, 2026). A channel identified with the Hamas military wing confirmed the death of Muhammad Abu Shahla, aka Abu Suleiman (Telegram channel of Halat Qassamiya, March 18, 2026).

• • On March 19, the PIJ’s military wing issued a list of 85 commanders who were killed during the war in the Gaza Strip, including commanders in the operations, administration, information, communications, production, artillery and missile units, and company commanders in the various brigades. The list confirmed that two fatalities identified as journalists were operatives in the organization’s military wing: Muhammad Nasser Abu al-Huwaidi, who was killed in December 2023, was represented as a photographer at the Hamas-affiliated al-Istiqlal newspaper, but according to the list he was a commander in the combat information unit of the military wing; and Salem Husni Abu Tuyour, who was killed in April 2024, finance manager of the PIJ’s al-Quds al-Yawm channel was also a commander in the combat information unit (Telegram channel of Saraya al-Quds, March 19, 2026).^[12]

• • The IDF spokesperson in Arabic stated that during March 2026 Israeli security forces eliminated Izz al-Din Rajeh Muhammad al-Talbani and Tawfiq Azmi Tawfiq al-Khaldi, from the Hamas naval force in the central camps. They were eliminated while planning to carry out naval attacks on IDF forces operating in the Gaza Strip in the immediate future (Telegram channel of Avichay Adraee, March 22, 2026). Izz al-Din Rajeh al-Talbani was reportedly killed in a strike on his home in al-Zawayda (the Facebook page al-Zawayda al-‘An, March 10, 2026) and Tawfiq al-Khaldi was killed in the strike on a Hamas police vehicle on March 15 (the Palestinian Communications Center, March 15, 2026).

• • On March 22, Muhammad Abu al-Atta, aka Abu Salim, a commander in the PIJ’s military wing, was reportedly killed in an Israeli strike on an apartment in al-Taj Tower in the al-Yarmouk area in central Gaza City. He was the brother of Bahaa’ Abu al-Atta, commander of the northern brigade of the military wing, who was eliminated in November 2019 (Amad Agency, March 22, 2026).
  • On March 22, a cell of armed Hamas terrorists driving in a pickup truck in the central Gaza Strip was eliminated (IDF spokesperson, March 23, 2026). The Hamas ministry of the interior reported that the strike targeted a police vehicle on duty in the Nuseirat refugee camp, and killed two police officers, Ali Abu Rabia and Ahmed Hamdan and a policeman, Ahmed Tabasha, and wounded several other policemen and passersby (Telegram channel of the Hamas ministry of interior and national security in the Strip, March 22, 2026). Sources in the Gaza Strip reported that Ahmed Hamdan was a field commander in the nukhba unit of the Nuseirat battalion of the Hamas military wing (al-Sharq al-Awsat, March 25, 2026).

• • On the night of March 24, armed Hamas nukhba terrorists were eliminated while training in the central Gaza Strip. According to reports, they had recently carried out several military exercises and posed a threat to IDF forces and to the State of Israel (IDF spokesperson, March 25, 2026). An Israeli aircraft reportedly struck a group of Palestinians in the al-Sawarha cemetery area, north of al-Zawayda, killing Ahmed Muhammad Darwish and Nader al-Nabahin (Palinfo, March 25, 2026; X account of QudsN, March 25, 2026). Sources said Darwish was a nukhba unit commander in the central Gaza brigade of the Hamas military wing, had participated in the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre and had abducted several Israeli civilians. He had recently become a central figure in the central Strip brigade after the eliminations of senior commanders, and worked to reorganize the military wing. According to the sources, al-Nabahin was one of Darwish’ aides (al-Sharq al-Awsat, March 25, 2026).

• • On March 28, Ahmed Fayez Salem Abu Rida, who was detained during the war in the Gaza Strip and released from an Israeli prison during a deal for the release of hostages in January-February 2025, was eliminated. According to the IDF, Abu Rida systematically violated the terms of his release agreement, crossing the Yellow Line several times and transferring money to suspects of terrorist activity (IDF spokesperson, March 29, 2026). He was reportedly killed and another person was wounded in a strike on a vehicle west of Bani Suheila square, east of Khan Yunis (Quds Agency, March 28, 2026).

• • On March 29, a cell of about ten armed Hamas terrorists operating in the central Gaza Strip was eliminated (IDF spokesperson, March 29, 2026). The attack reportedly targeted a police point near the al-Iqlimi area, in the Mawasi of Khan Yunis, near the al-Bureij refugee camp (Shehab Agency, March 29, 2026). According to Hamas, nine policemen and civilians were harmed in strikes on two police points in Khan Yunis (Hamas Telegram channel, March 29, 2026).
  • On March 30, Ibrahim al-Khaldi, an operative in the Hamas naval array, was eliminated in the Nuseirat refugee camp. He had planned and led terrorist activity against IDF forces through the naval arena in the Gaza Strip (IDF spokesperson, March 31, 2026). He was reportedly killed and others were wounded in an Israeli strike on a group of Gazans in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Strip (al-Risalah, March 30, 2026). According to another report, he had been displaced from Gaza City to the al-Bureij refugee camp (Telegram channel al-Bureij Thamana, March 30, 2026).

Rocket fire

• During March 2026, no rockets were fired at Israeli territory.

Monthly Distribution of Rockets

Annual Distribution of Rocket

Terrorist Attacks

• During March 2026, three attacks were carried out, killing one Israeli civilian was killed and wounding two; there were no attacks during the previous month.
  • Stabbing in Ramat Gan: On March 12, an Israeli-Arab terrorist, a 20-year-old resident of Jatt, stabbed and critically wounded an Israeli civilian in central Ramat Gan (Israel Police spokesperson and Israeli media, March 12, 2026). Searches found a knife and additional items used by the terrorist, and according to the indictment the attack had a nationalist motive and its objective was to harm an Israeli civilian (Israeli media, March 30, 2026). Hamas welcomed the stabbing and represented it as an expression of growing Palestinian anger, calling for continued escalation of the “resistance”^[13] and “confrontation”^[14] in all arenas (Telegram channel of Hamas, March 12, 2026).
  • Shooting in Samaria: On March 12, two Palestinian terrorists in a vehicle opened fire at an IDF position near the Ariel Junction. They subsequently drove to the Tapuah Junction, where they opened fire and attempted to ram their vehicle into Israeli security forces at the location. They were shot and killed; there were no casualties among Israeli security forces (IDF spokesperson and Israeli media, March 12, 2026). The ministry of health in Ramallah reported that Mamoun Badawi Idris Rashdan, 25 years old, and Muhammad Ali Bassam Rashdan, 24 years old, residents of the village of Einabus, were killed when the “occupation” shot at their vehicle near the Zatara checkpoint, south of Nablus (Quds Agency, March 12, 2025). Hamas welcomed the attack at the Zatara Junction (Tapuah) (Hamas Telegram channel, March 12, 2026). Hamas issued a death notice for the “shaheeds” Muhammad Bassam Rashdan and Mamoun Badawi Rashdan, who were shot by “occupation forces” during a “heroic attack” near the Zatara Junction (Telegram channel of Hamas in Judea and Samaria, March 12, 2026).

• • Vehicular ramming near Homesh: On March 21, an 18 year-old Israeli was killed and his brother was seriously wounded when a pickup truck driven by a Palestinian from the village of Beit Imrin rammed into their SUV in the Homesh area in northern Samaria. Evidence at the scene indicated it was a terrorist attack and the Palestinian suspect was found to have posted videos supporting Hamas terrorists and inciting the murder of Jews (IDF spokesperson and Israeli media, March 21, 2026). The investigation concluded the collision was intentional and had nationalist motivation, and the attacker confessed (IDF spokesperson and ISA spokesperson, March 26, 2026).

Significant Terrorist Attacks, 2026^[15]

Counterterrorism

• During March 2026, Israeli security forces continued routine counterterrorism activity throughout Judea and Samaria, eliminating terrorists who threw rocks, Molotov cocktails and explosive devices, and detaining hundreds of wanted Palestinians and suspects involved in terrorist activity, planning attacks and manufacturing and trafficking weapons. Weapons, explosive devices and lathes were seized, as well as funds for financing terrorist activity and propaganda materials. Security forces sealed and demolished the homes of perpetrators of attacks and prevented weapons from being smuggled through the Jordanian border (IDF spokesperson and Israeli media, March 1-31, 2026:
  • IDF soldiers operating near Sinjil in Samaria eliminated two terrorists who threw rocks at Israeli vehicles on a main road (IDF spokesperson, March 16, 2026). Two fatalities were reported at the entrance to the town of Turmus Aya, north of Ramallah: Fathi Ali Fathi Sahouri and Salim Sami Salim Fuqaha, 16 years old, from Sinjil (Shehab Agency, March 16, 2026). Hamas issued a death notice for Salim Sami Fuqaha, killed near the entrance to Turmus Aya (Telegram channel of Hamas in Judea and Samaria, March 17, 2026).

• • On March 25, Israeli security forces uncovered a Hamas-affiliated terrorist network of ten operatives from the village of Beita, which had carried out several attacks on IDF forces using explosive devices and were planning more. A large quantity of weapons was seized from the detainees, including an M16 rifle, explosives and ready-to-use remote-activated devices. Investigation revealed that the detainees were responsible for using explosive devices to attack IDF forces in March-April 2025, wounding three soldiers, two of them critically. They also carried out several shootings, prepared to execute more, and planned an abduction; one of the detainees had dug a tunnel behind his home about six meters deep intended to hold hostages. Members of the network conducted surveillance of a Jew living in the area in preparation for abducting him, but abandoned the plan after realizing it would be difficult to carry out. Indictments were filed against the detainees in the Samaria military court, including charges of attempted murder, shooting and attempted kidnapping (Israel Police spokesperson, ISA and IDF spokesperson, March 25, 2026)
  • On March 26, Israeli security forces operating in Nablus detained Salah Ali Zahran, a Hamas operative from Deir Abu Mashal who had been involved in several shootings in the Deir Qaddis area in 2008, wounding Israeli civilians. After the attacks the suspect fled and had since been held in protective custody by the Palestinian Authority security forces. As soon as he exited protective custody the forces detained him. He attempted to flee but was apprehended after suspect-detention protocol had been initiated (Israel Police spokesperson, March 26, 2026). Local sources reported that an Israeli special force stopped the vehicle in which Salah Ali Zahran was traveling near al-Basatin square in central Nablus, opened fire, wounded him and then detained him. According to the report, he was detained shortly after being released from the Palestinian Authority al-Juneid prison in Nablus, where he had been held for 18 years. Human rights activists claimed he had been tortured in prison and alleged that his detention by Israel was carried out in coordination with the Palestinian Authority security forces (Palestinian Press website, March 27, 2026).

• • • On March 27, during an Israeli security forces activity in the Qalandia refugee camp, riots broke out in which Palestinians threw rocks at the forces. The soldiers responded with gunfire. There were no casualties among Israeli forces (IDF spokesperson, March 27, 2026). The Palestinian Authority ministry of health reported that Sufian Ahmad Saleh Abu al-Liel, 46 years old, died after being hit by “occupation gunfire” in the Qalandia refugee camp (Palestinian Media Center, March 27, 2026). The death of Mustafa Hamad was reported, who also died after being hit by “occupation” gunfire (Quds Agency, March 27, 2026). Hamas issued death notices for “shaheeds” Sufian Abu al-Liel and Mustafa Hamad, who were killed during the “raid” on the Qalandia refugee camp (Telegramchannel of Hamas in Judea and Samaria, March 27, 2026).

     
Hamas death notice for Hamad, right, and Abu al-Liel (Telegram channel of Hamas in Judea and Samaria, March 27, 2026)

• • On March 27, the ministry of health in Ramallah reported that Adham Sayid Salah Dahman, 15 years old, died of his wounds after being hit by “occupation” fire in the Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem during the evening (Quds Agency, March 27, 2026). Hamas issued a death notice for him (Telegram channel of Hamas in Judea and Samaria, March 28, 2026).

• • On March 30, in the city of Dura near Hebron, Israeli security forces eliminated a terrorist armed with a knife who ran at them. In the town of al-Ram north of Jerusalem, a terrorist who sped up and drove his vehicle toward the forces, endangering them, was eliminated (IDF spokesperson, March 30, 2026). Palestinian media reported that Ramzi Abd al-Hakim Muhammad al-Awawda was killed in the town of Kharsa in the Dura area (Quds Agency, March 30, 2026). Hamas issued death notice for Ramzi Abd al-Hakim al-Awawda (Telegram channel of Hamas in Judea and Samaria, March 30, 2026).

• • On March 30, a Palestinian terrorist accelerated his vehicle at IDF forces operating in the Tulkarm area; he was shot and killed (IDF spokesperson, March 30, 2026). The ministry of health in Ramallah reported that Abd al-Rahman Hamza Abu al-Rab, 31 years old, from the village of Jalbun, was killed at the Anab checkpoint east of Tulkarm (Quds Agency, March 30, 2026). Hamas issued a death notice for Abd al-Rahman Hamza Abu al-Rub, who was killed by “occupation” gunfire at the Anab military checkpoint. He had worked in the Palestinian police force (Telegram channel of Hamas in Judea and Samaria, March 30, 2026). Palestinian social media users were angry at the Palestinian Authority for not issuing an official statement that Abu al-Rub belonged to the police and only referring to him as a young man (Telegram channel of Jenin refugee camp 24 hours, March 30, 2026).

• • On March 30, it was reported that in December 2025 the Israel Security Agency (ISA) had exposed a terrorist network operated from Turkey by Mahmoud Radwan, a Hamas operative who was released in a prisoner exchange deal and deported to Turkey in January 2025. Radwan, who had been serving a prison sentence in Israel since 2001 for the murder of an Israeli civilian, recruited two young Palestinians from the village of Azzun in Samaria, Raif Shallo and Nasser Salim, for military activity. The investigation revealed that during December 2025, Radwan met the two at a restaurant in Turkey, where he told them of his ongoing military activity both in Turkey and in Judea and Samaria. He also told them that he was in contact with elements in Judea and Samaria, expressed his desire to die as a shaheed and suggested they join him, and they agreed. At the end of the investigation, indictments were filed against Shallo and Salim (ISA spokesperson, March 30, 2026).
• During March 2026, the security forces eliminated terrorist activity also within the territory of the State of Israel:
  • On March 5, it was reported that in January 2026 Israeli security forces detained three Israeli citizens from the Negev who had attempted to smuggle weapons through the border with Jordan. It was reported that Isma’il al-Qashhar, 50 years old, from the Janabib region, Alaa Sadayin, 33 years old, from the al-Misaq region area and Faiz Amrani, 26 years old, from the Abu Qurinat region, were detained near the location where a UAV was seized after crossing from Jordan carrying 36 pistols and 63 magazines. During the investigation, evidence was collected which led to the filing of an indictment against the three (ISA spokesperson and Israel Police spokesperson, March 5, 2026).
  • On March 16 Israeli security forces detained a young man from east Jerusalem in a mosque in the city of Lod after receiving a warning that he intended to carry out an attack in the immediate future (Israel Police spokesperson, March 16, 2026).
  • On March 22, Israeli security forces detained four residents of Umm al-Fahm, all in their twenties, who had organized to carry out shootings. The investigation revealed that they had purchased and trained with illegal weapons. Additional weapons were seized, including pistols, a Carlo improvised automatic weapon, an M16 rifle and ammunition (X account of the Israel Police, March 22, 2026).

• • On March 22, it was reported that during February 2026 Israeli security forces operating near the Sinai Peninsula border detained Husam Abu Gardud, about 23 years old, and Mustafa Mayatal, about 22 years old, from Bir Hadaj in the Negev, on suspicion of weapons smuggling. A UAV carrying three M16s was seized nearby. During their interrogation, evidence was collected indicating their involvement in dozens of operations smuggling weapons into Israel. Fuad al-Zidat, 30 years old, from Mas’udin al-Azazme, and Fuad Sawarka, 24 years old, from Bir Hadaj, were also detained. Indictments were filed against the four (Israel Police spokesperson, March 22, 2026).

     
A UAV and weapons seized from the detainees (Israel Police spokesperson, March 22, 2026)

• On March 31, it was reported that Israeli security forces had detained two residents of the Negev after they were suspected of involvement in weapons smuggling and distribution. An indictment was filed against one of them, Maher Abu al-Duba, about 28 years old, from the al-Aasam area, and another Israeli citizen, from Bir Hadaj. The ISA and the nationalist crime unit of the Southern District interrogated him and collected evidence establishing his involvement in weapons’ offenses. An administrative detention order was issued for the second detainee, a resident of Bir Hadaj, because of his involvement in weapon smuggling across state borders and the threat his activity posed to state and public security (ISA spokesperson and Israel Police, March 31, 2026).

• During most of March 2026, the Houthis did not attack Israeli territory or vessels, following their policy since the beginning of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on October 10, 2025. However, after the war with Iran began, senior Houthi officials said they were monitoring developments and warned they were prepared to join the fighting alongside Iran, depending on developments.^[16]
• On March 28, the Houthis realized their threats. Their military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, announced that they carried out their first military operation and launched a barrage of ballistic missiles at “sensitive Israeli targets in southern occupied Palestine.” He said the attack was synchronized with attacks by the “mujahideen brothers” in Iran and Hezbollah and claimed that the objectives had been successfully achieved. He threatened to continue the attacks until the “aggression” ceased on all fronts. On March 28, he claimed responsibility for a barrage of cruise missile and UAV attacks on vital targets and military sites “in southern occupied Palestine.” Again, he claimed that the attack was synchronized Iran and Hezbollah and that the targets had been hit (Telegram channel of Yahya Saree, March 28-30, 2026). The attacks on Israel included a ballistic missile, a cruise missile and a UAV from Yemen which were intercepted by the IDF (Israeli media, March 28, 2026). The IDF spokesperson reported that two UAVs launched from Yemen had been intercepted, although the Houthis did not claim responsibility (IDF spokesperson, March 30, 2026).

• Syrian media reported continued “incursions” by “Israeli occupation forces” into villages in the rural areas of the Quneitra and Daraa provinces, the establishment of checkpoints and the detention of residents (SANA, Syrian News Agency and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, March 1-31, 2026). On March 20, the IDF struck headquarters and weapons in Syrian regime military camps in south Syria in response to attacks on Druze civilians in the al-Suwayda area a day earlier (IDF spokesperson, March 20, 2026).
• On March 1, an organization called Hayat Ansar al-Tawhid claimed its fighters from the rural area of Daraa in southern Syria had attacked positions of the “occupation entity” with eight Grad rockets to “avenge” the free peoples of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The statement said that the attack was in response to Israel’s actions and had penetrated the security belt established to prevent attacks along the borders. The organization also threatened that what was coming would be “more severe” (X account of Sayyed Abd al-Zahra al-Dhabhawi, March 1, 2026). The IDF spokesperson did not report any such event and there is no verification for the claim.
• On March 7, Kataib Jund al-Qarar fi Bilad al-Sham, a pro-Iranian organization affiliated with the “Islamic resistance,”^[17] claimed responsibility for a UAV attack and direct hit on an Israeli military target in the “occupied Golan” (Telegram channel of Kataib Jund al-Qarar, March 7, 2026). The organization also claimed responsibility for a March 27 rocket attack on gatherings of the “Zionist enemy in the south of our land,” claiming direct hits. The attack was reportedly in support of “the proud Iranian people and its brave resistance, as well as in defense of Islam…” (Telegram channel of Kataib Jund al-Qarar, March 28, 2026). There was no confirmation from the IDF spokesperson regarding the two incidents.

• On March 21, several rockets were reportedly fired from Syria at Israeli territory and IDF positions in the Syrian Golan. According to the report, the rockets fell in open areas, far from the border and the positions (i24NEWS, March 21, 2026).