20 Hezbollah commanders killed in Israeli attack on Lebanon
Axios reports that 20 Hezbollah commanders were killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon.
According to RIA Novosti, the US newspaper Axios reported, citing an Israeli official, that about 20 special forces commanders of the Hezbollah movement were killed after today's attack by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on the capital Beirut, Lebanon.
“The senior commander of the Radwan force, and 20 other commanders were killed in the attack,” Axios said.
Axios added that Israel believes it cannot avoid a military escalation to resolve the situation on the border with Lebanon.
Hezbollah confirmed Aqil's death in the early hours of September 21, calling him "one of the group's top leaders" but did not provide details on the cause of death.
Earlier on September 20, the Israeli military carried out an airstrike on the outskirts of Beirut. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, nine people were killed. The target of the attack was a senior Hezbollah commander, the head of the special operations command, Ibrahim Aqil.
Israel believes that Hezbollah is planning to invade Israeli territory, as well as kill civilians, “similar to what Hamas did in the attack on October 7, 2023.” Tel Aviv believes that Commander Aqil and his fellow commanders are among the “architects” of these plans.
This is the second senior Hezbollah commander killed by Israel in recent months. In late July, senior commander Fuad Shukr was killed in an attack on an eight-story building in a southern suburb of Beirut, which is believed to be Hezbollah’s stronghold in Lebanon. The IDF said he was Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s “right-hand man” and an adviser on planning and managing military operations.
According to Axios, Ibrahim Aqil was one of the main members of the Hezbollah militia believed to be responsible for the attacks on the US embassy in Beirut in April 1983 and the bombings of the US Marine barracks in October of the same year.
