At least 12 people were killed and 65 injured in an Israeli airstrike this afternoon in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Sources close to Hezbollah told AFP and Reuters that among the dead was the head of Hezbollah’s special operations unit, Ibrahim Aqil. This news was also confirmed by the Israeli army.
Along with Aqil, 10 other Hezbollah commanders were “neutralized”.
Lebanese security sources told Reuters the bombing occurred near a Hezbollah facility.
BREAKING: ISRAEL JUST BOMBED BIERUT pic.twitter.com/jytDq9ihX2
— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) September 20, 2024
Rescue teams are searching for those trapped in the wreckage of apartment buildings collapsed by the bombing.
Reports so far of at least 16 Deaths, as a result of the Israeli Precision-Airstrike on the Suburbs of Beirut.#Beirut #LebanonExplosion #LebanonBlast #lebnan pic.twitter.com/WCHSSYrjnt
— THE GLOBAL INDEPENDENT NEWS (@shivams53345792) September 20, 2024
High-ranking Hezbollah official dead
THE Ibrahim Aqil he was the leader of the al-Radwan force, the elite unit of the pro-Iranian Lebanese movement.
One of the sources said that Aqil was killed along with members of the elite unit, during an encounter.
Aqil, also known as Tahsin, was wanted by the US for his role in the attacks on the US embassy in Beirut in April 1983, in which 63 people were killed, and his role in attacks on US marines in October 1983 , where 241 soldiers were killed.
Authorities had announced a $7 million reward for information leading to his location.
The tension escalates
The Israeli strike came hours after Hezbollah fired 150 rockets.
The Iranian-backed movement claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes in response to intense nighttime bombing by Israel in southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah rocket launchers.
Earlier in the week, improvised explosive devices belonging to Hezbollah exploded in an unprecedented double Israeli strike.
37 people were killed and more than 3,000 injured from the explosion of the organization’s buzzers and portable radios.
The US declares ignorance
White House Security Council spokesman John Kirby said today that he was not aware of any briefing by Israel to the US before today’s strikes in Beirut, adding that Washington was advising US citizens not to travel to Lebanon or leave the country. country, if they are already there.
Speaking to reporters, Kirby said he was unable to comment on the latest strikes but reiterated that the Biden administration was trying to avoid an escalation in the region.
Netanyahu postpones his trip to New York
Due to the developments, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is postponing by one day his departure for New York, which was originally scheduled for September 24.
This postponement is due to the security situation in northern Israel, an official from the Israeli prime minister’s office told AFP today.
Netanyahu “postponed his visit to the US by one day due to the security situation in northern Israel,” where the army faces repeated rocket attacks from Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the official said.
“Currently, the Prime Minister is expected to depart Israel on Wednesday September 25 instead of Tuesday September 24,” he added.
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