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Assassination of Ibrahim Aqil

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Assassination of Ibrahim Aqil
Part of the Israel–Hezbollah conflict
and spillover of the Israel–Hamas war
LocationHaret Hreik, Dahieh, Baabda District, Lebanon
Date20 September 2024
TargetRadwan Force command committee
Deaths37
Injured68
Perpetrator Israel

On 20 September 2024, Israel launched an air attack that leveled an apartment building in the Dahieh suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. The attack killed at least 37 people, including sixteen Hezbollah militants, two of whom were commanders, identified as Ibrahim Aqil and Ahmed Wehbe. They were the second and third Hezbollah commanders being assassinated by Israel in two months during the ongoing Israel–Hezbollah conflict, after the killing of Fuad Shukr.

The other victims were civilians, including at least three children and seven women. At least 68 others were injured.[1][2][3] Israel said the strike targeted commanders of Hezbollah's elite Redwan Force command committee in which they were holding a meeting within an apartment building.[4][5] Twenty three people remain missing from the attack.[6]

Background

Hezbollah and Israel have been involved in an ongoing cross-border military exchanges that have displaced entire communities in Israel and Lebanon since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in late 2023.[7][8]

Earlier on 17 September 2024, just a few hours before the explosions, the Security Cabinet of Israel established a new war objective: the safe return of displaced residents to the north.[9][10] Israel's domestic security agency, Shin Bet, announced it had thwarted a Hezbollah plot to assassinate a former senior defense official using an explosive device.[11][12] On the same day and the following one, thousands of handheld pagers and hundreds of walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah exploded in simultaneous attacks across Lebanon and Syria.[13][14][15] According to The New York Times, Israeli intelligence services had manufactured the devices.[16] The incident was described by Hezbollah's officials as the organization's biggest security breach since the start of the conflict.[17]

Target

Ibrahim Aqil was a Lebanese militant and senior official in Hezbollah.[18] He was a member of the Jihad Council, which oversees the military and security operations of the organization. Aqil served as the head of operations and was considered by some as the de facto Chief of Staff of Hezbollah.[19][20] He was also believed to be the head of the Redwan Force, an elite Hezbollah branch.[18][21]

In the 1980s, he was a key figure in the Islamic Jihad Organization, a terrorist cell operated by Hezbollah and responsible for the 1983 US embassy bombing in Beirut, killing 63 people, and the attacks on the multinational force bases in Beirut that resulted in the deaths of 305 people.[22] During the 1980s, Aqil was responsible for the kidnapping of American and German hostages.[23]

On 10 September 2019, the U.S. Department of State designated him as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.[19] On 18 April 2023, the Rewards for Justice program offered a reward of up to $7 million for information about him.[19] He was reportedly involved in planning a Hezbollah operation in northern Israel, which was believed to be similar to the October 7 Hamas attacks.[24]

Attack

At around 15:45 EEST, a strike targeted a building on Jamous Street in the neighborhood of al-Qaem in the southern suburbs of Beirut, an area known as a Hezbollah stronghold. Initial reports suggested Naim Qassem, Hezbollah's second in command, was one of those who was targeted.[25] The Lebanese National News Agency said that the strike was carried out in two sorties by an F-35 fighter jet.[26]

At least 37 people including three children and seven women were killed, while 68 others were injured.[1][2][26] Footage of the targeted site shows extensive damage to the building, with the street littered with debris and destroyed vehicles. It was also reported that the IDF confirmed a "targeted strike"; no changes in Home Front Command defensive guidelines were announced.[27] Another building also collapsed in the attack.[26] Rescue workers immediately started digging through the rubble as 20 people remain missing from the attack.[28]

The IDF said that at least 10 Hezbollah commanders were killed in the airstrike in Beirut alongside Ibrahim Aqil.[29] Hezbollah later confirmed the deaths of 15 of its members in the airstrike, including Aqil.[30]

The assassinations of Ibrahim Aqil and Ahmed Wehbe marked the second and third Hezbollah commanders killed by Israel after Fuad Shukr in two months.[31]

Reactions

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the attack "proves again that the Israeli enemy does not value any human, legal or moral considerations".[26]

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said he was "not aware of any prior notification regarding Israeli strikes on Beirut".[32]

Hamas denounced the attack, calling it a "crime" and saying that "Israel would pay the price" for the killings.[33]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Marsi, Urooba Jamal, Federica (21 September 2024). "Death toll in Beirut strike rises to 37: Ministry". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 21 September 2024. Lebanon's health ministry says the death toll from yesterday's air attack on Beirut's southern suburb has reached 37 people.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b Marsi, Urooba Jamal, Federica (21 September 2024). "Death toll in Beirut attack goes up". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 21 September 2024. Lebanon's Health Minister says at least 31 people, including three children and seven women, were killed in the Israeli attack on southern Beirut yesterday. Another 68 people were wounded in the attack, he added. The three children among the 31 killed in Israel's attack on southern Beirut yesterday were aged four, six and 10, Lebanon's Health Minister said during a press conference.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "Israeli air attack on Beirut kills 14 as cross-border fire intensifies". Al Jazeera. 20 September 2024.
  4. ^ ""إسرائيل" توسّع الحرب بعملية ضخمة دمّرت مبنييْن في الضاحية: استشهاد مؤسّس قوة الرضوان إبراهيم عقيل وهيئة أركانها". وكالة القدس للأنباء (in Arabic). 2024-09-21. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
  5. ^ "Israel kills top Hezbollah figure in Beirut strike". Reuters. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  6. ^ "31 killed, 23 missing in Israeli airstrike on Beirut's Southern suburbs, caretaker Health Minister Firass Abiad says". Lorient Le Jour. 21 September 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  7. ^ "Israeli strikes in Lebanon kill three including Hezbollah commander, sources say". Reuters. 16 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  8. ^ "Lebanon: Flash Update #25 − Escalation of hostilities in South Lebanon, as of 23 August 2024 − Lebanon". United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 27 August 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  9. ^ "Israel sets new war goal of returning residents to the north". BBC. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  10. ^ "The return of evacuated residents to northern Israel is now a war goal, PMO says". The Jerusalem Post. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  11. ^ Lubell, Maayan (17 September 2024). "Israel says it thwarted Hezbollah plot to kill former defence official". Reuters.
  12. ^ "Did Israel retaliate against Hezbollah for attempted assassination of ex-defense chief? − analysis". The Jerusalem Post. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  13. ^ "Video shows pagers exploding in Lebanon attack". The New York Times. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  14. ^ "Pagers explosion: Thousands hurt across Lebanon, health minister says". BBC News. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  15. ^ "Exploding pagers belonging to Hezbollah kill 8 and injure more than 2,700 in Lebanon". NBC News. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  16. ^ "How Israel Built a Modern-Day Trojan Horse: Exploding Pagers". The New York Times. 18 September 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  17. ^ "Dozens of Hezbollah members reportedly hurt by exploding pagers". BBC. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  18. ^ a b "Israel identifies Hezbollah's Ibrahim Aqil as head of the deadly Radwan unit". The Jerusalem Post. 2023-12-03. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  19. ^ a b c "Ibrahim Aqil – Rewards For Justice". Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  20. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Iran orders Hezbollah to target Saudi Arabia". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  21. ^ Beeri, Tal (5 January 2023). "The Radwan Unit ("Radwan Force" − Unit 125)". Alma Research and Education Center. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  22. ^ Hjelmgaard, Kim. "Beirut strike kills suspect in 1983 Lebanon bombings that killed 300 Americans". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  23. ^ אדלסון, דניאל; יורק, ניו; אייכנר, איתמר (2023-04-18). "סוחר האמנות שמממן את חיזבאללה, ופרס המיליונים על ראשו של רב המחבלים". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  24. ^ "Hezbollah commander killed in Israeli airstrike was top military official on US wanted list". AP News. 2024-09-20. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
  25. ^ "Recap: Major Israeli strike kills Hezbollah Radwan Forces commanders - L'Orient Today".
  26. ^ a b c d "Israeli air attack on Beirut kills 14 as cross-border fire intensifies". Al Jazeera. 20 September 2024.
  27. ^ "Israel targets top Hezbollah figure in Beirut strike, sources say". Reuters.
  28. ^ "الميادين: ارتفاع حصيلة العدوان الإسرائيلي على الضاحية الجنوبية لبيروت إلى 19 شهيداً ونحو 20 مفقوداً ..أخر المستجدات". برس بي (in Arabic). 2024-09-21. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
  29. ^ Fabian, Emmanuel (20 September 2024). "Hagari: Aqil, top leadership were underground, below a residential building at time of strike". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  30. ^ Fabian, Emmanuel (21 September 2024). "Hagari: Aqil, top leadership were underground, below a residential building at time of strike". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  31. ^ "Israeli air attack on Beirut kills 14 as cross-border fire intensifies". Al Jazeera. 21 September 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  32. ^ "'10 Hezbollah commanders' killed alongside Ibrahim Aqil in Israeli Haret Hreik strike, Israeli army says: Day 350 of the Gaza war - L'Orient Today".
  33. ^ "Hamas condemns killing of senior Hezbollah commander". Al Jazeera. 20 September 2024.
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