Israel Claims Hezbollah Commander Killed in Airstrike

A precise strike in Beirut has reportedly killed Ibrahim Aqil and several others.

Ibrahim Aqil, the leader of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan unit, was killed in a targeted strike in Beirut, Lebanon, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Friday.

The US blamed Aqil for the April 1983 bombing of the American Embassy in Beirut that killed 63 people, and offered a $7 million bounty on his head in 2019.

“Air Force fighter jets targeted the Beirut area and killed Ibrahim Aqil, the head of the Hezbollah terrorist organization’s operations team, the acting commander of the unit Radwan and the commander of the ‘Galile Conquest Plan,’” the IDF stated.

Several of Radwan’s top officers were also “eliminated” alongside Aqil, the IDF said. The Israeli military stated that Aqil and his unit were planning a raid on Galilee similar to Hezbollah’s October 7 attack from Gaza.

At least three people were killed and 17 wounded in the bombing, two Israeli security sources told Axios on Friday. Saudi TV outlet Al-Arabiya reported that Aqil was killed in the Israeli strike. Hezbollah has not confirmed his death.