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Israel says it killed top Hezbollah commanders in Beirut strike
by Brad Dress - 09/20/24 2:44 PM ETIsraeli officials said Friday they eliminated top Hezbollah commanders in a targeted strike in Beirut, including an officer involved in planning multiple attacks against Israel.
The Israeli air force killed Ibrahim Aqil, the head of Hezbollah’s operations unit and the commander of the elite special forces unit the Radwan Force, according to a release from the Israeli military.
The military said other senior Radwan commanders were killed in the Lebanon attack, including those involved in planning what officials claimed was an imminent operation to infiltrate Israel and kill civilians.
Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a press briefing that Aqil and the other Radwan commanders were gathered underground “beneath a residential building in the heart of the Dahieh neighborhood, using civilians as human shields.”
“They had gathered to coordinate terrorist activities against the citizens of Israel,” he said.
Aqil had headed Hezbollah’s operations unit since 2004 but served with the Lebanese militant group since the ’80s, according to the Israeli military. He was responsible for planning several deadly attacks on Israel.
The U.S. has a $7 million bounty on his head because he was a principle member of a Hezbollah cell that was behind a bombing that killed 63 at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut in April 1983 and another bombing at the U.S. Marine barracks in October 1983 that killed 241 American personnel.
Hagari said Friday that Aqil “had large amounts of blood on his hands” and “was responsible for the deaths of many innocent civilians.”
Israeli forces carried out the Friday attack in Beirut shortly after Hezbollah fired some 140 rockets toward Israel, most of which the Israeli military said were shot down.
The Israeli strikes on Beirut have killed at least 12 people and wounded some 60 others, according to the state-run National News Agency in Lebanon.
Israel has stepped up its attacks on Hezbollah this week, killing at least 37 people and wounding thousands of others in Lebanon after detonating pagers and handheld radios in two separate incidents.
Israel says it killed top Hezbollah commanders in Beirut strike
Israeli officials said Friday they eliminated top Hezbollah commanders in a targeted strike in Beirut, including an officer involved in planning multiple attacks against Israel. The Israeli air for…
thehill.com