The Washington Post
Death toll rises to 31 in Israeli strike that killed 2 Hezbollah commanders in Beirut
September 21, 2024 at 5:39 a.m. EDT32 min ago
Emergency personnel work Saturday at the site of Friday's strike in Beirut's southern suburbs. (Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)
Thirty-one people have died and 68 were injured in the Israeli airstrike that killed two Hezbollah commanders and other members of the group in a Beirut suburb, Lebanon’s Health Minister Firass Abiad said Saturday, adding that children were among the dead. The Israeli military and Hezbollah confirmed the deaths Friday of senior members Ibrahim Aqil and Ahmed Wehbe. The strike capped a days-long Israeli assault on Hezbollah amid fears of all-out war.
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Death toll in Beirut strike rises to 31, capping week of attacks in Lebanon
Who was Ibrahim Aqil, the Hezbollah leader killed in Israeli strike?
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34 min ago
Death toll in Beirut strike rises to 31, capping week of attacks in Lebanon
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By Victoria Bisset
Breaking news, international news
A damaged car at the site of Friday's Israeli strike in the Beirut suburbs. (Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)
Lebanon’s health minister said at least 31 people were killed in Friday’s Israeli airstrike targeting the militant group Hezbollah in Beirut. The strike was the latest in a series of deadly attacks that have killed dozens and injured thousands in the country this week, amid growing fears of a wider war.
Here’s what to know:
Tuesday: Pagers used by Hezbollah simultaneously explode across Lebanon, injuring more than 2,800 people and killing at least 12, according to officials.
Wednesday: A new spate of explosions of electronic devices hits Lebanon, also apparently targeting Hezbollah. The death toll from the two days of attacks rises to at least 37.
Thursday: Israel’s military carries out some of the most intense Israeli attacks across the border since the war in Gaza escalated regional tensions.
Hezbollah also claims strikes on Israeli military positions, and the IDF says two soldiers were killed as a result of attacks in northern Israel.
Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah blames Israel for this week’s detonation of electronic devices in Lebanon, describing the operation as an “act of war” and vowing to respond in a televised address. U.S. officials acknowledge that Israel carried out the explosions but say it did not inform Washington about specifics before the attack.
Friday: Israel launches an airstrike on a southern suburb of the Lebanese capital Beirut that kills senior Hezbollah commanders Ibrahim Aqil and Ahmed Wehbe, as well as other members. Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said three children ages 4, 6 and 10 were among the 31 people killed. Another 68 were injured, he said.
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1 hour ago
Who was Ibrahim Aqil, the Hezbollah leader killed in Israeli strike?
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By Sammy Westfall
Assistant Editor on the Foreign desk
An undated photograph of Ibrahim Aqil appears on a wanted poster circulated by the U.S. State Department's Diplomatic Security Service entity “Rewards for Justice.” (U.S. State Department/Reuters)
Prominent Hezbollah official Ibrahim Aqil was killed in a targeted strike in the Jamous area south of Beirut on Friday, Hezbollah and the Israeli military said.
Aqil was a Hezbollah leader who sat on the group’s military council. He led Hezbollah’s Operations Unit for two decades, the IDF said.
“Ibrahim Aqil had the blood of many innocent people on his hands — Israelis, Americans, French, Lebanese and more,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesman, said in a video statement. Hagari said Aqil and the other Hezbollah members killed Friday were planning additional attacks on Israel.
Aqil appeared to have taken over from Fuad Shukr, the senior Hezbollah commander killed in an Israeli strike in the same southern Beirut suburb over a month ago, according to Amal Saad, a lecturer in politics and international relations at Cardiff University in Wales who researches Hezbollah.
“It’s a huge blow for sure,” Saad said of the strikes that have killed two of the group’s senior-most members within two months. But she cautioned that Hezbollah is designed to quickly and seamlessly replace even its top commanders. It was unlikely, she added, that the killing would impact the group’s operations.
In Hezbollah’s announcement of Aqil’s death, the militant group called the commander a “great martyr,” adding that “Jerusalem was always in his heart, mind and thoughts day and night. Jerusalem was the passion of his soul and praying in its mosque was his greatest dream.” In its statement, the group acknowledged that several other Hezbollah members were also killed in Friday’s strike.
Aqil was wanted by the U.S. government and was designated a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist.”
The State Department said Aqil was a “principal member” of the Hezbollah terrorist Islamic Jihad Organization that claimed the bombings of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut in April 1983 that killed 63 people, including 17 Americans, as well as the U.S. Marine Corps barracks bombing in October 1983, which killed 241 U.S. personnel.
1 hour ago
Israel targets senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut suburb
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By Louisa Loveluck, Victoria Bisset and Mohamad El Chamaa
Smoke is seen over Beirut's skyline on Sept. 20 as the Israeli military said it carried out a targeted strike on a suburb of the city. (Video: Reuters)
Israel’s military targeted a senior Hezbollah commander in an airstrike in a Beirut suburb Friday, Israeli officials said.
The strike collapsed two residential buildings and killed at least 31 people, Lebanese health and civil defense officials said.
The target was Ibrahim Aqil, a prominent Hezbollah leader who sits on the group’s military council, according to Israel’s Army Radio and Israeli officials familiar with the operation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the strike with the media.
Israel’s military spokesman, Daniel Hagari, said Friday that Aqil and other members of his Hezbollah unit had been killed. Hezbollah did not immediately confirm Aqil’s death.
Lebanon’s National News Agency said four missiles slammed into the buildings in the Jamous area south of Beirut, where support for Hezbollah is strong.
Israel-Gaza war
The Israel-Gaza war has gone on for months, and tensions have spilled into the surrounding Middle East region.
The war: On Oct. 7, Hamas militants launched an unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking civilian hostages, including from a music festival. See photos and videos of how the deadly assault unfolded. Israel declared war on Hamas in response, launching a ground invasion that fueled the biggest displacement in the region since Israel’s creation in 1948. In July 2024, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an attack Hamas has blamed on Israel.
Gaza crisis: In the Gaza Strip, Israel has waged one of this century’s most destructive wars, killing tens of thousands and plunging at least half of the population into “famine-like conditions.” For months, Israel has resisted pressure from Western allies to allow more humanitarian aid into the enclave.
U.S. involvement: Despite tensions between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some U.S. politicians, including President Biden, the United States supports Israel with weapons, funds aid packages, and has vetoed or abstained from the United Nations’ cease-fire resolutions.
History: The roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mistrust are deep and complex, predating the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. Read more on the history of the Gaza Strip.
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Israel-Gaza war
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