Ibrahim Aqil is the second senior Hezbollah military official to be assassinated by Israel after Fouad Shukr.
Obituary Hezbollah 15 members were killed in an Israeli strike on the southern suburb of Beirut, including at least two leaders, while Israel announced the implementation of a “precise” strike on the southern suburb of Beirut, which led to the “elimination” of Ibrahim Aqil and “about ten other officials” in the party.
After mourning the commander of the elite Radwan Force in Hezbollah, Ibrahim Aqil, the party mourned in successive statements 14 members, including the leader Ahmed Mahmoud Wahbi, who “assumed responsibility for the central training unit,” according to a statement by the party.
In a statement, the party described Wahbi as having “led the military operations of the Radwan Force on the Lebanese support front from the beginning of the Battle of Tufan al-Aqsa until the beginning of 2024,” and then assumed “responsibility for the Central Training Unit,” adding that he “was martyred on the road to Jerusalem following a treacherous Israeli assassination operation on 09/20/2024 in the southern suburbs of Beirut.”
Another source close to Hezbollah reported on Friday that Aqil was targeted during a meeting with field “commanders” in the party.
For its part, the Lebanese Ministry of Health announced the killing of 14 people and the injury of 66 others in the Israeli raid on the southern suburb of Beirut, noting that rescue workers expect to find more victims under the rubble.
The biggest after Fouad Shukr
Aqil is the second senior Hezbollah military official to be assassinated by Israel in Beirut’s southern suburbs after Fouad Shukr, since the Tehran-backed party opened a front in the south. Lebanon “In support” of his ally, the Palestinian Hamas movement, in its war against Israel in the Gaza Strip since October 2023.
In a profile published by the party about Aqil, it described him as having “planned and supervised the leadership of the military operations of the Radwan Force” since the escalation began about a year ago.
Hezbollah mourns the commander of the party’s elite Radwan Force, Ibrahim Aqil. AFP
The Israeli army said in a statement on Friday, “Warplanes carried out a precise raid in the Beirut area, under intelligence guidance from the Military Intelligence Service, and eliminated Ibrahim Aqil, head of Hezbollah’s operations system and the actual commander of the Radwan Force.”
He added in another statement that, along with Aqil, “about ten officials from the Radwan Force affiliated with Hezbollah were liquidated.”
The raid is a new blow to Hezbollah after deadly explosions this week of thousands of its radios, blamed on Israel. The United Nations, which expressed “deep concern,” called for “de-escalation” and “maximum restraint.”
