An Israeli airstrike on a residential area in Beirut has killed two senior Hezbollah military commanders in what marks a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group.
Lebanon’s health ministry confirmed that at least 31 people were killed in Friday’s airstrike, including three children and seven women, with dozens more injured.
Emergency services responded to the scene in the Dahieh neighborhood, a Hezbollah stronghold, where one residential building collapsed and others were heavily damaged.
Hezbollah identified the two commanders killed as Ibrahim Aqil, a high-ranking figure in its elite Radwan Unit, and Ahmed Wahbi, another senior official within the same unit.
In a statement, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Aqil was killed alongside senior operatives and other Radwan commanders.
“They were gathered underground under a residential building in the heart of the Dahieh neighborhood, hiding among Lebanese civilians, using them as human shields,” Hagari said.
He added that the individuals killed were “planning Hezbollah’s ‘Conquer the Galilee’ attack, in which Hezbollah intended to infiltrate Israeli communities and target civilians.”
Who Was Ibrahim Aqil?
Ibrahim Aqil, also known by his alias Haj Abdul Qadir, was a prominent figure in Hezbollah’s military operations, overseeing ground operations as part of the group’s Jihad Council.
He played a leading role in Hezbollah’s activities in southern Lebanon and cross-border operations. Due to Hezbollah’s secretive leadership structure, little information about Aqil was publicly known.
Aqil had been a target of the U.S. government for his involvement in past attacks on American targets. In 2015, the U.S. placed a $7 million bounty on him under its “Rewards for Justice” program.
Washington had linked Aqil to the 1983 bombings of the U.S. Embassy and Marine barracks in Beirut, which killed hundreds of people.
Hezbollah described Aqil as one of its “great jihadist leaders” in a social media post confirming his death.
Rising Tensions
The Israeli airstrike is part of a broader conflict that has been escalating along Lebanon’s southern border. The strike came shortly after a series of explosions involving pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah, which resulted in multiple casualties and further heightened tensions in the region.
While Israel has not officially commented on the explosions, it is widely believed to be responsible for the attack.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have repeatedly called for the withdrawal of Hezbollah’s Radwan Unit from the Israeli border. The Radwan Unit, considered Hezbollah’s most elite military force, has been involved in cross-border operations and has fought alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces since 2013.
Aqil’s death follows a pattern of targeted killings of high-ranking Hezbollah commanders. In July, Fuad Shukr, another senior Hezbollah figure, was killed in an Israeli airstrike. These repeated assassinations of Hezbollah’s leadership have sparked fears of retaliation, raising the risk of further escalation.
Senior UN official Rosemary DiCarlo has warned that the region is at risk of being drawn into a broader conflict, one that could “dwarf” previous escalations in the Middle East.