Taking advantage of a brief “operational opportunity,” an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday killed IDF’s top Hezbollah target, Ibrahim Aqil, during a meeting of the elite Radwan Force. The media reported that the strike took place in a parking lot in the Dahieh neighborhood, where about twenty commanders were gathered for discussions.
The meeting allegedly took place in the parking structure’s second underground level. The strike, carried out by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) with the use of four missiles, caused significant structural damage and led to the collapse of the floor where the meeting was held. This IDF operation was reportedly planned in response to information that other senior leaders, including Ibrahim Aqil, were meeting in an underground location.
‘Necessary opportunity for execution’
After immediate intelligence, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, who was visiting northern Israel at the time, approved the strike. The attack was considered a “necessary opportunity for execution” by Israeli security officials, who also highlighted its strategic significance in the ongoing conflict with Hezbollah. “At the time of the strike, Aqil and the commanders of the Radwan Forces were gathered underground under a residential building in the heart of the Dahiyah neighborhood, hiding among Lebanese civilians, using them as human shields,” an IDF spokesperson said in a post on X.
Israeli officials have stated that the airstrike represents a new phase in the war, and it is widely perceived as a significant increase in hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah. As Aqil and the other commanders met inside the building, the explosion tore into the lower levels. At the time of the strike, witnesses claimed to have heard multiple blasts after a loud whistling. Just after midnight, Hezbollah confirmed Aqil’s death and called him “one of its top leaders.”
The Iranian-backed outfit has promised retaliation, heightening fears of further escalation in violence along the Israel-Lebanon border. Hezbollah claimed in a statement that it had carried out a “treacherous Israeli assassination” on Aqil, claiming he was killed in Dahiyeh, a suburb of Beirut’s south. According to Lebanon’s health ministry, at least 14 people perished in the strike, and as the rescue team worked through the night, more deaths were anticipated.
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