An Israeli airstrike in Beirut killed senior Hezbollah military official Ibrahim Aqil on Friday, the Israel Defense Forces announced. Although Hezbollah has not confirmed the reports, Lebanese officials said earlier in the day that the strike killed at least eight and wounded 59.
The IDF reportedly targeted two residential buildings in southern Beirut. Aqil is the head of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force and Jihad Council, and is sanctioned by the U.S. Department of State for playing a role in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. embassy in Beirut, in which a suicide bomber murdered 63 people, including 52 embassy employees. The State Department named Aqil a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in 2019, and offered a reward of “up to $7 million for information” about the Hezbollah leader.
The senior command of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force, around 20 terrorists, were reportedly killed with Aqil.
Israel’s latest strike against Hezbollah comes after the terrorist group launched nearly 120 rockets into northern Israel around midday on Friday. Hezbollah has launched near-daily rocket barrages into Israel in support of Hamas since October 7. Tens of thousands of Israelis have fled northern Israel, and remain evacuated from their homes.
Tensions remain high in the region, days after Israel launched a heavily-coordinated targeted attack against Hezbollah operatives by blowing up terrorists’ pagers and walkie-talkies, disrupting the terror organization’s communications, and wounding thousands. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed to retaliate against Israel, and described the attacks as an “act of war.”
On Thursday, Israel also said that the IDF struck “hundreds of rocket launcher barrels” in southern Lebanon, as they “were ready to be used in the immediate future to fire toward Israeli territory.”
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Thursday that the department would continue to seek a “diplomatic resolution” in the Israel-Hamas war by “first getting a ceasefire in Gaza,” and defended Israel’s right to protect itself against terrorism.
“We are committed to the defense of Israel against terrorist organizations. That includes Hamas. It includes Hezbollah. It includes other Iranian proxies,” Miller said. “We will continue to stand by Israel’s right to defend itself. But we don’t want to see any party escalate this conflict, period.”