Hezbollah commander killed by Israel had $10m bounty on his head

Beirut: The Hezbollah commander killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs was one of the Lebanese militant group’s top military officials, in charge of the group’s elite forces, and had been on Washington’s wanted list for years.

Ibrahim Aqil, 61, was the second top Hezbollah commander killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburb of Beirut in as many months, dealing a severe blow to the group’s command structure.

Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil in an undated photo provided by Hezbollah Military Media.Credit: AP

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least 14 people died in the strike and the toll was expected to climb as rescue teams searched through the rubble. At least 66 people were injured, nine of whom were in critical condition.

It was the first such Israeli attack on Lebanon’s capital in months and came shortly after Hezbollah pounded northern Israel with 140 rockets, sharply escalating the year-long conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed group.

That followed the thousands of Hezbollah pager and walkie-talkie explosions in Lebanon that killed 37 people and injured more than 3000 earlier in the week. The attacks were widely attributed to Israel’s Mossad spy service.

Aqil, who served as the acting commander of the Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force, was killed along with other senior commanders as they held a meeting. The Radwan force also fought in Syria gaining experience in urban warfare and counter-insurgency.

Rescuers work at the scene of an Israeli missile strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut.Credit: AP

He was also a member of Hezbollah’s highest military body, the Jihad Council, since 2008.

Hezbollah confirmed Aqil’s death in a statement on Saturday (AEST) that called him “one of its top leaders”.

In a second statement issued later, Hezbollah said Aqil’s killing was a “treacherous Israeli assassination”. It said that Ahmed Wahbi, a commander who oversaw the Radwan special forces during the Gaza war until early 2024, was also killed.

A security source said at least six other Hezbollah commanders died when multiple missiles slammed into the opening of the building’s garage. The explosion tore into the lower levels as Aqil met other commanders in the basement. Israel said the “targeted strike” in Beirut’s southern Dahiya district killed Aqil and 10 other Hezbollah operatives.

Lebanon’s civil defence said its rescue teams were searching for missing people under the rubble after two residential buildings collapsed. Footage showed a badly damaged building and the street strewn with rubble and burnt-out cars.

In a brief statement carried by Israeli media, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country’s goals were clear and its actions spoke for themselves. Israeli newspapers reported the escalation caused Netanyahu to delay his trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly next week by a day.

It marks the second time in less than two months that Israel has targeted a top Hezbollah military commander in Beirut. In July, an Israeli airstrike killed Fuad Shukr.

Aqil had a $US7 million ($10.2 million) bounty on his head from the US over his link to the deadly bombing of Marines in Lebanon in 1983, according to the US State Department website.

Hours before the Israeli strike, Hezbollah pounded northern Israel with 140 rockets as the region awaited the revenge promised by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah over this week’s mass explosions of pagers belonging to members of the Shiite militant group.

People gather at the scene of an Israeli missile strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut.Credit: AP

Hezbollah said it had fired Katyusha rockets at what it described as the main intelligence headquarters in northern Israel “which is responsible for assassinations”.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said he was not aware of any Israeli notification to the US before the Beirut strike, adding that Americans were strongly urged not to travel to Lebanon, or to leave if they are already there.

“War is not inevitable up there at the Blue Line, and we’re going to continue to do everything we can to try to prevent it,” said Kirby, referring to the frontier between Lebanon and Israel.

The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is the worst since they fought a war in 2006. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from homes on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border since Hezbollah began rocketing Israel in what it says is sympathy with the Palestinians in parallel to the war in Gaza.

While the conflict has largely been contained to areas at, or near the frontier, this week’s escalation has heightened concerns that it could widen and further intensify.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who said this week that Israel is launching a new phase of war on the northern border, posted on X: “The sequence of actions in the new phase will continue until our goal is achieved: the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes.”

The Iranian embassy in Lebanon said it “condemns in the strongest terms the Israeli madness that crossed all lines with targeting residential buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs”.

In Gaza, Palestinian authorities said 15 people were killed overnight in Israeli attacks.

A man injured when a handheld device exploded waits in a specialist eye hospital in Beirut.Credit: AP

Israel maintains it targets only militants and accuses Hamas and other armed groups of endangering civilians by operating in residential areas. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel that sparked the Israel-Hamas war.

The ministry does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count but says a little over half of those killed were women and children.

Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

AP, Reuters

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