Qabisi’s killing is another blow to Hezbollah after a series of setbacks at the hands of Israel
An Israeli air strike on Beirut killed a senior commander in Hezbollah On Tuesday, cross-border rocket attacks from both sides raised fears of a full-scale war in the Middle East.
The Israeli military said the airstrike on the Lebanese capital killed Ibrahim Qubaisiwho said he was the commander of Hezbollah’s missile and rocket force.
Two security sources in Lebanon described him as a senior figure in the missile division of the Iran-backed group.
An Israeli security source told Israeli media that Hezbollah leader Ibrahim al-Qubaisi, who was targeted by Israel in Ghobeiry, was promoted just days ago due to assassinations among the party’s cadres.
The source added that it was under the direct supervision of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.
For its part, the Israeli Army Radio revealed that the targeting of Qabisi was carried out by F-35 aircraft. It indicated in this regard that this type of aircraft was used in the assassination of Hezbollah leader Fouad Shukr last July also in the suburb.
Responsible for various missile units
According to the Israeli army, Al-Qubaisi was responsible for various missile units in Hezbollah, including precision-guided missile units.
Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee added that over the years and during the war he was responsible for launching rockets towards the home front in Israel and had special and central experience in the field of rockets and was close to senior leaders of the military leadership in Hezbollah.
#urgent 🟡 The IDF eliminated Ibrahim Muhammad al-Qubaisi, the commander of the terrorist Hezbollah’s missile and rocket system.
🔸Warplanes, under the direction of the Intelligence Service, attacked the southern suburbs of Beirut and killed Ibrahim Muhammad al-Qubaisi, the commander of Hezbollah’s missile and shell system. At the same time… pic.twitter.com/SolrRXOfXl
— Avichay Adraee (@AvichayAdraee) September 24, 2024
According to the Israeli army, Qabisi joined the party during the 1980s and held central military positions in it, including being responsible for the operations system in southern Lebanon and commander of the Badr unit on the southern front.
The attack was another blow to Hezbollah after a series of setbacks by Israel over the past week, with Israel later saying it had carried out “intensive strikes” on Hezbollah targets.
The pressure on Hezbollah has raised fears that the nearly year-old conflict could explode and destabilize the oil-producing Middle East, where Hamas and Israel are already at war in Gaza.
The attack that killed Qabisi was another blow to Hezbollah after a series of setbacks at the hands of Israel over the past week.
Israel is shifting its focus from Gaza to the northern border, where Hezbollah is firing rockets into Israel in support of Hamas, which is also backed by Iran.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would continue to strike Hezbollah targets and urged Lebanese citizens to escape the grip of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
“Anyone who has a missile in his living room and a missile in his garage will not have a home,” Netanyahu said at a military base in an undisclosed location, after the military said munitions had been found in people’s homes. “Our war is not with you, our war is with Hezbollah. Nasrallah is leading you to the brink of the abyss… Get rid of Nasrallah’s grip for your own good.”
Israel has accused Hezbollah of hiding its weapons in homes and villages in Lebanon, accusations the Lebanese party denies.
Calls for diplomacy
As the conflict escalates, calls for diplomacy are growing, with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urging all states and influential actors to avoid further escalation in Lebanon.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told MSNBC he believes it is still possible to find a “path forward” toward de-escalation and a diplomatic solution.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called on all parties to “step back from the brink” and urged restraint.
The fighting has raised fears that the United States, a close ally of Israel, and Iran, a regional power with proxies across the Middle East — Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen, and armed groups in Iraq — will be drawn into a wider war.
Hezbollah suffered heavy losses last week when thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by its members exploded in the worst security breach in its history.
The operation was widely attributed to Israel, which has a long history of sophisticated attacks on foreign soil. It has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.
Hezbollah announced in a message posted on Telegram on Tuesday that it had used a new missile, the Fadi 3, in an attack on an Israeli army base.
Its media office dropped leaflets bearing a “very dangerous” symbol over the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, warning that scanning it with a phone would result in “all information being withdrawn” from any device.
“A very difficult war”
Israel launched air strikes on a Hezbollah-controlled area of Beirut for a second day in a row after launching a new wave of air strikes on targets in Lebanon, while the party said it fired rockets into northern Israel earlier on Tuesday.
Lebanon’s health ministry said at least six people were killed and 15 others wounded in Tuesday’s raid on a building in Beirut’s Ghobeiry district.
The Israeli government has made securing the northern border and returning the population there a priority for the war, setting the stage for a long conflict, while Hezbollah has vowed it will not back down until a ceasefire is reached in Gaza.
Lebanese authorities said 558 people were killed in Monday’s airstrikes, including 50 children and 94 women. Another 1,835 people were wounded, and tens of thousands fled in search of safety, they said.
“We felt like we were in a war, a very difficult war,” said Rima Ali Shaheen, 50, at a temporary shelter for displaced people in a Beirut college.
“It may not have taken long on the road, but now families are arriving who have been stuck on the roads since yesterday – 15 or 16 hours on the roads,” she added.
The number of casualties and the intensity of Israel’s attacks have sparked panic in Lebanon, but also a spirit of defiance among people who remember the devastating war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.
“We are waiting for victory, God willing, because as long as we have a neighbor like Israel, we cannot sleep in peace,” said Hassan Omar, a resident of Beirut.
