Israel claimed its strike in Lebanon’s capital took the life of Ibrahim Aqil, wanted over his alleged role in the 1983 US embassy attack in Beirut which killed dozens.
A top Hezbollah commander sanctioned by the US was said to have been killed today as an Israeli attack left at least nine dead and dozens injured.
Israel claimed its strike in Lebanon’s capital took the life of Ibrahim Aqil, wanted over his alleged role in the 1983 US embassy attack in Beirut which killed dozens. It comes as Lebanon has been left reeling by apparent Israeli attacks targeting Hezbollah devices this week which have killed 37 and wounded thousands.
The Israeli military announced that its Friday airstrike on a neighbourhood of Beirut killed Aqil – but there was no immediate confirmation of his death from Hezbollah. The Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital killed at least nine people and wounded almost 60 others, according to Lebanese health officials, and flattened two apartment buildings.
The Israeli military also claimed that its strike killed other “top operatives” of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force. It came after Hezbollah hit northern Israel with 140 rockets and the region awaited the revenge promised by the militant group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah over this week’s device attacks.
Since Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel prompted the latter’s offensive in Gaza, tensions have surged into regular cross-border attacks between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah. Exchanges of fire over the past year have largely struck evacuated communities in northern Israel and less-populated parts of southern Lebanon. The last time Israel hit Beirut was July’s airstrike killing senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr.
Friday’s strike hit the sprawling Dahiya district during rush hour, as people were leaving work and kids heading home from school. Footage broadcast by local networks showed a high-rise building completely flattened in Jamous area, just kilometers from downtown Beirut where Hezbollah holds sway.
Last year, the US offered a reward of up to $7million for information leading to the ID, location, arrest or conviction of Aqil who was described as a “key leader” of the group. The US government said he served on the Jihad Council, the group’s highest military body.
It said last year: “During the 1980s, Aqil was a principal member of Hizballah’s terrorist cell the Islamic Jihad Organization, which claimed responsibility for the bombings of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut in April 1983, which killed 63 people, and the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in October 1983, which killed 241 U.S. personnel. Also in the 1980s, Aqil directed the taking of American and German hostages in Lebanon and held them there.” He was listed as a “Specially Designated National” in 2015 by the US.
In other developments elsewhere, the woman whose firm was linked to pagers exploding is apparently under the protection of the Hungarian secret services. Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, listed as the chief executive of Budapest-based BAC Consulting, has not appeared publicly since the attack. Her mother, Beatrix Barsony-Arcidiacono, said that her daughter had received unspecified threats and “is currently in a safe place protected by the Hungarian secret services”.
