A senior Hezbollah commander, Ibrahim Aqil, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s Dahiyeh neighborhood on Friday. Aqil, who led Hezbollah’s elite Radwan unit, was targeted along with other top operatives. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that the strike aimed to neutralize Aqil and his unit’s command structure.
Crazy footage 💥
Showing the moment of the bombing today in Beirut, allegedly the assassination of Ibrahim aqil pic.twitter.com/saxphKTbGI— Me (@messi_hoz) September 20, 2024
The strike resulted in the deaths of at least 12 people. Lebanon’s health ministry also reported dozens of injuries. According to the IDF, Aqil and his commanders had been preparing to carry out an operation to occupy Galilee in northern Israel. Aqil was a long-standing figure within Hezbollah, also known as Tahsin, and was linked to major attacks against U.S. and Israeli interests, including the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, which killed 63 people. The U.S. government had previously offered a $7 million reward for information leading to his capture.
On this day, April 18, 1983, unknown soldiers of resistance, attacked the USA embassy in Beirut, killing eight CIA agents, including the CIA’s Near East director Robert Ames, Station Chief Kenneth Haas, James Lewis and most of the CIA Beirut staff. pic.twitter.com/JgyZzVnqzY
— Sharmine Narwani (@snarwani) April 18, 2021
The death of Aqil follows the killing of Fuad Shukr, another top Hezbollah commander, by an Israeli strike in July.
Massive Structure Damage to Building in the Suburbs of Beirut which was Struck tonight by the Israeli Air Force, resulting in the Elimination of Hezbollah Chief of Staff, Fuad Shukr. pic.twitter.com/gdVukqgKF4
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) July 30, 2024
International leaders have expressed growing concern over the escalating violence. U.S. officials, including State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, have urged both Israel and Hezbollah to pursue diplomatic solutions to avoid further escalation. European leaders, such as French President Emmanuel Macron and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, have echoed these calls, advocating for a ceasefire to prevent the conflict from spiraling into a broader regional war.
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