Israel Claims Responsibility for Eliminating High-Ranking Hezbollah Leader
An IDF airstrike took the life of Ibrahim Aqil as he gathered with other senior commanders in an underground bunker outside Beirut.
In a significant blow to Hezbollah, an Israeli airstrike on Sept. 20 targeted its operations commander and a dozen other top leaders during a meeting in a bunker beneath a residential building outside Beirut, Lebanon.
Following this week’s deadly exploding pager and radio attacks, Hezbollah retaliated by launching almost 150 missiles at Israel.
However, Israel’s response struck harder. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the elimination of Ibrahim Aqil.
Aqil was the operations commander of Hezbollah, leading its elite Radwan Forces and positioned to become second-in-command to leader Hassan Nasrallah. He had long been sought by the United States for his involvement in directing the 1983 U.S. Embassy and Marine barracks bombings in Beirut.
The IDF revealed that Aqil was orchestrating Hezbollah’s planned attacks similar to Hamas’s deadly assault on Oct. 7, 2023, targeting northern Israeli communities and their residents.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
This is developing and will be updated.
