Israel said on the 18th (local time) that it had eliminated Esmail Khatib, Iran's Intelligence Minister.
According to Reuters and others that day, Israel Katz, Israel's Ministry of National Defense Minister, said in a video statement that Khatib, the Minister, was eliminated in an airstrike the previous night (on the 17th).
Katz, the Ministry of National Defense Minister, also said that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had authorized the military to kill targeted senior Iranian officials without additional approval.
He said, "Today, major surprises are expected across all fronts, and the fighting with Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon will grow even more intense."
Israel targeted Minister Khatib the previous day and struck Tehran, Iran's capital. It also attacked the headquarters and maintenance center of a security unit under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as the headquarters of Iran's ballistic missile unit.
Iran has not yet offered official confirmation regarding the claim of Minister Khatib's death.