Israeli air strike kills top commanders

On Saturday, Hezbollah announced that a second high-ranking commander was one of the 16 fighters who were killed in an Israeli air strike on its stronghold in Beirut. This emphasized the significant impact on its military leadership resulting from the attack.

Israel said Friday’s strike on the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital killed the head of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, Ibrahim Aqil, and several other commanders.

Coming hot on the heels of sabotage attacks on communications devices this week that killed 37 people in Hezbollah strongholds, the strike raised new questions about the Iran-backed group’s security arrangements and dealt a heavy blow to its fighters’ morale.

Hezbollah named the second commander as Ahmed Mahmud Wahbi, saying he had headed the group’s operations against Israel from the onset of the Gaza war in October until the start of this year.

Confirming the death of Aqil, who was wanted by the United States for involvement in the 1983 bombing of the US embassy in Beirut, Hezbollah hailed him as “one of its great leaders”.

AFP journalists said Friday’s strike left a massive crater and gutted the lower floors of a high-rise building.

It was the second Israeli strike on the Hezbollah military leadership since the start of the Gaza war. An Israeli strike on Beirut in July killed Fuad Shukr, a top operations chief for the movement.

It also followed sabotage attacks on pagers and two-way radios used by Hezbollah on Tuesday and Wednesday, which killed 37 people and raised fears of a wider war.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the world body was “very concerned about the heightened escalation” and called for “maximum restraint” from all sides.

The Israeli military said it conducted a “targeted strike” against Aqil, which a source close to Hezbollah said killed a total of 16 Radwan Force members.

The source said Aqil was “at a meeting with commanders” when he was killed.

The United States had offered a $7 million reward for information on Aqil, describing him as a “principal member” of an organisation that claimed the 1983 embassy bombing, which killed 63 people.