BEIRUT – The Israeli Army confirmed the death this Friday of Hezbollah’s Chief of Military Operations, Ibrahim Aqil, along with other members of the elite Radwan forces, in the Israeli bombing of the southern suburb of Beirut.
“Under the precise direction of the Intelligence Division, Air Force fighter jets attacked the Beirut area and killed Ibrahim Aqil, the head of operations of the terrorist organization Hezbollah,” a military statement said.
Hezbollah later confirmed the death of Ibrahim Aqil. “Today, the great combatant leader Ibrahim Aqil has joined the ranks of his fellow great martyred commanders after a blessed life full of struggle, work, wounds, sacrifices, risks, challenges, achievements and victories,” says a statement.
The Emergency Operations Center of the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health raised to 14 the number of people who have died so far in the attack, in which 66 people were injured and transferred to different hospitals, including nine who are in critical condition. “critical.”
“The debris removal work continues to this day,” the note added, detailing that “the rescue teams working on the ground anticipate that there will be more deaths under the rubble.”
The bombing targeted a residential building in the southern suburbs of Beirut, known as Dahye and an important stronghold of the Shi’i group Hezbollah.
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This attack against the southern suburb of Beirut is a selective operation by the Israeli Army, which later confirmed the death of Hezbollah’s head of military operations, Ibrahim Aqil, along with other members of the elite Radwan forces, in the bombing.
According to the Israeli Army, all of them “were planning the ‘Conquest of Galilee’ attack, with which Hezbollah sought to infiltrate Israeli communities and murder innocent civilians,” the military statement indicates, which names Aqil as the ringleader of the attack. this plan.
Aqil joined Hezbollah in the 1980s and since 2004 he served as Chief of Operations, being responsible for bombings and anti-tank missile attacks, according to the Israeli Army.
As a member of the Jihad Council (Hezbollah’s main military body) he was also wanted and captured by the United States, which last year offered a reward of 7 million dollars in exchange for information on his whereabouts.
This is the third attack that Israel has launched against Dahye, since the beginning of clashes between the parties almost a year ago.
The previous two respectively killed the number two political office in the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, Saleh al Arouri, last January; and Hezbollah’s top military commander, Fuad Shukr, at the end of last July.
This Friday’s action comes amid growing tension, after this week two waves of simultaneous explosions in thousands of communication devices carried by members of Hezbollah killed 37 people and injured almost 3,000 in Lebanon.
“The war between Israel and Hezbollah is avoidable”
This latest attack by Israel against Lebanon has raised tension in the Middle East and the fears of the countries in the region that the war in the Gaza Strip will extend, which on October 7 will mark one year since its outbreak.
The White House assured this Friday that war is avoidable between Israel and the Lebanese Chi group Hezbollah, despite the increase in tension and attacks in recent hours, and added that, despite information indicating otherwise, the efforts Diplomats to appease the region continue to advance.
On the other hand, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, assured that the Chi movement Hezbollah has shown a contained position despite attempts to provoke it in order to force the United States to intervene in the war between Israel and Lebanon.
