On Friday, September 20, 2024, a crowd gathers at the site of an Israeli missile strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
BEIRUT: A senior Hezbollah military official was killed by an unusual Israeli airstrike on Friday in a heavily populated neighborhood in southern Beirut. The attack killed a senior Hezbollah military official. Lebanese authorities reported that bombings murdered at least 14 individuals in the country’s capital. Many people sustained numerous injuries in what is deemed the bloodiest attack in decades.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the main spokesperson for the Israeli military, announced that Israeli forces killed Ibrahim Akil, the leader of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, in the airstrike in Beirut. In the same attack, Israeli forces reportedly killed ten other Hezbollah agents in Beirut’s southern Dahiya suburb.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant declared, “We will continue pursuing our enemies to defend our citizens, even in Dahiya, in Beirut,” characterizing the Israeli operation against Akil as a component of “a new phase of war.”
Hezbollah verified Akil’s death a few hours later. They declared Akil, the Lebanese militant group leader, a great jihadist leader. Following a blessed life full of jihad, work, wounds, sacrifices, dangers, challenges, achievements, and victories, he joined the procession of his brothers, the great martyr leaders.
Akil was a member of the Jihad Council, the top military organization within Hezbollah. He was subject to sanctions by the US due to his alleged role in the 1983 bombings of the US Marine Corps barracks and Embassy in Beirut, which claimed the lives of over 300 people.
American State Department announced a $7 million reward for Akil’s information
Last year, the American State Department announced a reward of $7 million. This reward is for information leading to his identification, whereabouts, apprehension, or conviction of an individual. The department mentioned his involvement in the 1980s embassy bombing and the kidnapping of German and American hostages in Lebanon.
The attack occurred as worries that a full-scale conflict would break out in the Middle East due to a fresh round of escalation between the adversaries.
Hezbollah bombarded northern Israel with rockets hours before the Israeli attack. The area was on alert for retaliation. Hezbollah had threatened widespread explosions of pagers owned by members of the Shiite militant group this week.
The identities of the other Hezbollah commanders who the Israeli military claimed to have killed in its raid on the densely populated neighborhood only a few kilometers from Beirut’s downtown were withheld.
The Israeli airstrike in Beirut destroyed the apartment block, leaving at least 14 people dead and 66 injured
According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, the Israeli airstrike destroyed an apartment block in Beirut. According to the Israeli army, Akil had been meeting with other militants in the basement of this building. At least 14 people were killed and 66 were injured as a result of the destruction. The ministry reported that nine of the injured were in serious condition.
In the Jamous neighborhood, which is the center of Dahiya and where Hezbollah conducts its political and security operations, local networks in Lebanon carried footage of first responders. The first responders were seen picking through the debris of a collapsed high-rise in the Jamous neighborhood.
After the attack, first responders struggled to clear the debris. They did this so they could enter the building’s basement. Many bodies were reportedly found there. The rescue effort continued until the late hours of Friday.
The bombing on Friday occurred at rush hour. This was when people were leaving work, and kids were leaving school. The attack on a Beirut neighborhood was the bloodiest since the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006. That conflict lasted for a deadly and month-long period.
Crowds gathered at St. Therese Hospital in Beirut, to donate blood for the Israeli airstrike’s victims.
Crowds gathered at Beirut’s St. Therese Hospital. The hospital is close to the airstrike site. People came to donate blood for the attack’s victims at St. Therese Hospital.
Hussein Harake pledged to donate blood, saying, “It’s my obligation because we are all together in this situation.”
“Until we achieve our goal, ensuring the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes,” Gallant said that Israel would continue its war against Hezbollah. He made this commitment after briefing senior military authorities on the strike.
Hezbollah claimed that its most recent round of rocket salvos was in retaliation for previous Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon. This response was not in reaction to the widespread explosions of Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies on Tuesday and Wednesday. Those incidents left 2900 people wounded and at least 37 dead, including two children. The explosions were widely blamed on Israel.
The assaults this week along the Israel-Lebanon border represent a significant escalation in the past 11 months of simmering strife. This escalation was marked by sophisticated attacks. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the assaults this week.
Gaza, Israel, and Hezbollah exchanging gunfire regularly following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7
Following Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on October 7, the Israeli military responded with a disastrous incursion in Gaza. Since then, Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging gunfire regularly. The majority of prior cross-border strikes have targeted sparsely populated areas in southern Lebanon. Evacuated areas in northern Israel have also been targeted.
Israel recently attacked Beirut in July after an airstrike that claimed the life of top Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur.
At a press conference held after Friday’s operation, Hagari made the following statements: “The attack in Lebanon is to protect Israel,”. He also characterized Shukr and Akil as the two military personnel closest to Hezbollah chief Nasrallah.
Hagari made an allegation against Akil. He claimed that Akil had been planning attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians for years. One of these plans involved an invasion into northern Israel, reminiscent of the Hamas-led strikes on October 7.
Following the Israeli airstrike on Friday, Hezbollah declared two attacks on northern Israel. One attack, they claimed, was targeted towards an intelligence base from which Israel was directing assassinations.
Israel is still on edge. Nasrallah promised to continue attacking the country on Thursday. Despite the alleged sabotage of Hezbollah’s communication systems, which was a humiliating blow, Nasrallah made this promise.
Hagari informed reporters on Friday, “We are in a tense period.” “We are on high alert and ready to attack as well as defend.”
Israel ordered those living close to the border to stay close to bomb shelters
Israel has ordered residents living near its border with Lebanon to stay close to bomb shelters. In recent days, Israel has dispatched a formidable fighting force to its northern border. The stated war goal is for tens of thousands of displaced inhabitants to return to their homes in northern Israel. Hezbollah has insisted that it won’t stop shooting until there is a truce in Gaza.
The Israeli strike that targeted Akil was denounced by Hamas, which is still fighting Israel in Gaza, as a “new crime” and a “violation of Lebanese sovereignty.”
Palestinian casualties in the besieged Gaza Strip continued to rise. Despite this, the world’s focus shifted to the recent spike in Israel-Hezbollah hostilities.
Early on Friday, Palestinian health officials announced that 15 people had died. Among the deceased were children. In Gaza City, Israeli airstrikes targeted a family residence and a gathering of people on the street. At least 41,000 Palestinians have already died as a result of Israel’s war in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
The Israeli military responded to a request for comment on the most recent Gaza attacks. They denied taking feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm. It also blamed Hamas of putting people in danger by conducting operations in residential areas.
Israel’s assault and bombardment forced 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants to flee
Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip began on October 7 in retaliation for Hamas’s massacre of 1200 people and kidnapping of 250 others in southern Israel. The bombardment has caused immense damage and forced 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants to flee.
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