Israel Strikes Hezbollah Commander in Beirut Suburb, Killing 14 and Injuring 66
Israel has conducted an air raid on a residential area in the southern suburbs of Beirut, targeting senior Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil. The attack, which took place in the Dahiyeh neighborhood, resulted in at least 14 fatalities and 66 injuries, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.
Hezbollah confirmed Aqil’s death shortly after the Israeli military announced it had “eliminated” him. Reports indicate that Aqil was attending a joint meeting with an unnamed Palestinian group when the airstrike destroyed at least two buildings in the area. Footage from witnesses showed significant devastation, with debris strewn across the streets as Lebanese Civil Defense teams searched for survivors amidst the rubble.
The airstrike represents another setback for Hezbollah, which recently experienced an unprecedented incident involving the detonation of pagers and walkie-talkies used by its members, leading to 37 deaths and thousands of injuries.
This attack marks the second time in under two months that Israel has targeted a prominent Hezbollah military leader in Beirut, following the killing of Fuad Shukr in July. Aqil, who served as the second-in-command of Hezbollah’s armed forces, was a key figure in the group’s operations outside Lebanon and was under a $7 million bounty from the US State Department.
Joining Hezbollah in the 1980s, Aqil was linked to the notorious bombings of the US Embassy in Beirut in 1983, which claimed 63 lives, and the attack on the US Marine Corps barracks that killed 241 personnel. He was also implicated in the abduction of American and German nationals during that decade.
The Radwan Force, of which Aqil was a senior member, plays a critical role in Hezbollah’s confrontations with Israel. Reports indicate that Aqil had been hospitalized due to injuries from the recent pager explosions but was discharged just hours before the airstrike.
0 Comments