A senior Hezbollah military commander, Ibrahim Aqil, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut on Friday, marking a significant escalation that has heightened fears of an all-out war.
Hezbollah confirmed Aqil’s death after Israel reported that several senior Hezbollah figures were among those killed in the strike.
Earlier, Lebanese authorities stated that at least 14 people were killed and dozens injured in the densely populated Dahieh area, a Hezbollah stronghold in the city’s southern suburbs.
Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN’s political affairs chief, warned that the Middle East faces the risk of a conflict that could “dwarf” the devastation seen so far, speaking at a Security Council session following recent attacks.
In Beirut, chaos unfolded as emergency teams responded to the scene, rescuing the wounded and searching for survivors trapped under the rubble. At least one residential building collapsed, and several others were severely damaged.
Hezbollah members closed off streets, many visibly shaken, as the attack delivered yet another blow following a series of explosions earlier in the week that killed at least 37 people, when Hezbollah’s communications equipment, including pagers and walkie-talkies, detonated. These attacks are widely believed to have been orchestrated by Israel.
Friday’s strike was the first to hit Beirut since July, when Hezbollah’s military chief, Fuad Shukr, was killed.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari confirmed Aqil’s death, stating that he was a senior commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan forces and was killed alongside other senior operatives and Radwan commanders.
Hagari said they “were gathered underground under a residential building in the heart of the Dahiyah neighbourhood [in southern Beirut], hiding among Lebanese civilians, using them as human shields”.
The IDF spokesman added that the individuals killed were “planning Hezbollah’s ‘Conquer the Galilee’ attack plan, in which Hezbollah intended to infiltrate Israeli communities and murder innocent civilians”.
The Israeli military first revealed the plan in 2018, when the IDF reported it was blocking tunnels dug by Hezbollah aimed at infiltrating Israeli territory to kidnap and kill civilians.
In April, the U.S. announced it was searching for Aqil, also known as Tahsin, and offered a financial reward for information leading to his identification, location, arrest, or conviction. Aqil was wanted by the U.S. due to his senior role within Hezbollah, which has been designated a terrorist organization by Israel, the U.S., the UK, and other countries.
In the 1980s, Aqil was part of the group responsible for the bombings of the U.S. embassy in Beirut and a marine barracks, resulting in hundreds of deaths. Hezbollah confirmed his death on social media, calling him one of their “great jihadist leaders.”
Hezbollah, established in the early 1980s by Iran, the region’s dominant Shia power, was formed to oppose Israel after Israeli forces occupied southern Lebanon during the country’s civil war.
Earlier on Friday, Hezbollah launched attacks on military sites in northern Israel. The IDF reported 140 rockets were fired into the north, while Israeli police issued warnings about damage to roads. This came after Israel conducted extensive air strikes on southern Lebanon, targeting over 100 Hezbollah rocket launchers and other “terrorist sites,” including a weapons storage facility.
The cross-border conflict between Israel and Hezbollah intensified on October 8, 2023, following Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel from Gaza. Hezbollah began firing on Israeli positions in solidarity with the Palestinians. Since then, hundreds of people, mostly Hezbollah fighters, have been killed, and tens of thousands have been displaced on both sides of the border.
Israel recently added the return of people displaced from its northern regions to its war objectives. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced on Thursday that the country is entering a “new phase of the war,” with a stronger focus on the north.
The situation in Lebanon has grown more tense following explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies earlier this week, signaling a severe security breach and suggesting Israel had deeply infiltrated Hezbollah’s communication systems. Many of these explosions occurred simultaneously, with some happening during funerals for victims of previous blasts. Hezbollah and Lebanese authorities blamed Israel for the explosions, though Israeli officials have not commented. Analysts widely believe Israel was behind the attacks.
In a televised address on Thursday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said, “The enemy crossed all rules, laws, and red lines. It disregarded everything—morally, humanely, and legally.”
Nasrallah vowed a harsh punishment, but indicated his group was not interested in an escalation of its current conflict with Israel.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habbib told the UN Security Council on Friday that Israel had “deliberately undermined” diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza and “all attempts of the Lebanese government to de-escalate and exercise self-restraint”.
Israel’s UN envoy Danny Danon said that while his country is not seeking a wider conflict, it “will not allow Hezbollah to continue its provocation”.
UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council: “We risk seeing a conflagration that could dwarf even the devastation and suffering witnessed so far,”
“I also strongly urge member states with influence over the parties to leverage it now,” she added.
US and UK authorities have urged their citizens not to travel to Lebanon. The White House said it was involved in intense diplomacy to prevent escalation of the conflict along the Israel-Lebanon border.