Israeli fighter jets carried out an airstrike in a southern Beirut neighborhood on Friday, September 20, leaving eight killed and 59 injured, Lebanon’s well being ministry mentioned.
Israeli officers described the operation as a “focused strike” geared toward senior Hezbollah army commanders, together with Ibrahim Aqil, the militia’s head of operations.
A supply affiliated with Hezbollah confirmed to the AFP information company that Ibrahim Aqil, the Iran-backed group’s second-in-command, was killed within the strike.
White Home nationwide safety spokesperson John Kirby acknowledged that the U.S. was not notified upfront of Israel’s plan to focus on a prime Hezbollah commander in Beirut. “I’m not conscious of any prior notification of these strikes,” he mentioned, including, “that’s not atypical.”
Israel has recognized Aqil as the pinnacle of Hezbollah’s operations division, chargeable for the group’s fight initiatives. His position grew following the assassination of chief Fouad Shukr, and he’s accused of overseeing Hezbollah’s deadly operations in southern Lebanon.
Aqil has been positioned on U.S. sanctions lists for his involvement within the bombings of the U.S. embassy and Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983.
This Israeli strike comes shortly after Hezbollah Secretary-Common Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel of retaliation for latest assaults on celebration members and their households, which concerned detonating communication gadgets.
This incident intensifies an already unstable yr between Hezbollah and Israel. Hezbollah has confronted substantial losses, together with over 400 fighters because of Israeli strikes, and their prime commander, Fuad Shukr, was killed in July.